As we all know Tony Adams was this afternoon confirmed as the new Pompey manager, and I for one was most impressed with the press conference that he gave, shown live on sky sports news – and this feels me with some confidence and has perked up my spirits, give it a watch on the link below if you have not seen it as I feel it is well worth a butchers.
He was very honest in his answers and clearly very excited by the prospect of the challenge in front of him, he was also visible exited and happy to be given the chance he has, which he says is an ‘honour’. He admitted that it is a risk for him and the club but he would have been ‘gutted’ had we not turned to him: ‘it is fantastic, I’m very honoured. It is a great opportunity.
‘I’d have been mad to turn it down. I’m very excited. It is like Christmas.
‘It is a risk. It is a hard man to follow. Sometimes it doesn’t always work out. He did a great job.
‘I’ve got some great players. And I was kind of responsible for bringing them to the club. I didn’t want them to give the job to anyone else.
‘I would have been gutted. I thank them for showing the courage to appoint me.’
The fella has served his apprenticeship as a no.2 here, the next step up the ladder is the one that he has taken – do not underestimate what role he had already been playing at the club and we should not underestimate his knowledge of the game and just how respect among it he is, he will do a job I am sure – and feel more assured by the way he conducted and handled himself in the press conference…
I also liked the way he spoke about Harry Redknapp leaving, at one point he joking that he wished he had waited until the end of the season before going, starting to say he wished he had gone in the summer and bowed out ‘gracefully’ – although he did not complete the word gracefully, but I am near certain that is what he was starting to stay with ‘gra’, before he switched to something else.
He admitted that he sought advice from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and constantly referred back to him, which I have no problem with. They do not come much better than Wegner do they, who is one of the best managers around – and again one of the most respected. Clearly, without any shadow of a doubt Adams one day wants to return to Arsenal, I have no problems with that and this is not something that he is very open about and never hides. The beauty of this is that in order for that to happen he will need to be successful here!
Players are constantly being linked with a move to Spurs to join up with Harry Redknapp but Adams has said that he will battle to keep them from joining him, or other clubs: ‘I’ll fight him.
‘That is why they are here. They are good players. I’m delighted that they are wanted, but it is my job to keep them here.
‘It might not work, but at the minute they are doing well.’
A few were probably going to go in January anyway, so if they do that will not be much of a surprise. I still maintain my thoughts that in having this ‘continuity’ that we have a better chance of keeping the players that we have – finances permitting, as they respect him and will want to play for him, with them already showing that at the weekend and are said to have worked as hard as they ever have in training, giving their all for him.
The one drawback was the lack of a concrete answer on the future of Joe Jordan, who was not present and it was said he wanted some time to think – if we want to keep him then I do not think he would need to do much thinking, which makes me think that maybe there is not a place for him on his coaching setup – although I hope that there is!
Peter Storrie, who has now become the executive chairman , is confident that he has selected the right man: ‘it has been a bit of a whirlwind. We had a think and we feel he has done a tremendous job and thoroughly deserves this opportunity. I like the idea of continuity.’
All in all I am in a much happier, and more positive frame of mind now and I am ready to fully move on into this new chapter – starting with my long trek to Anfield tomorrow. I might not be expecting a lot, but if we give it our best shot you never know what might happen…
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If you did not see the press conference as it happened click here to view it
PLAY UP POMPEY!
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