In his latest column, the Betway ambassador reveals what attracted him to his new job, his aims for the season and some important advice from Sir Alex Ferguson.
I’m delighted to be the new manager of Ferencvaros. It’s the biggest team in Hungary and they have obviously got a great history. They always have a chance to win the league, and the big thing for me was being in a European competition. That really attracted me to the job, and to come to a team that’s on top means you’ve got more chance of winning games, and then I can bring my own philosophy to the team.
We’ve got two big games coming up in the Europa League against Eintracht Frankfurt and AZ Alkmaar, and I’m really looking forward to being back in Europe again after getting a feel for it with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
My ambition, as always, is to win, but we know it’s never that easy. We’re second in the league with a game in hand, but at the moment I just want to get a feel for the guys, see where they are and where we can push on to.
I want to win every game that I want to, and that won’t change, so I’m hoping to get to know the players fairly quickly and put my stamp on the on the team and how I want to play. If we can do that, I think we’ll have a successful season.
I knew a lot about the club and I had a chat with the owners in the summer. I’ve been watching a lot of games and a lot of different teams, and Ferencvaros was certainly I watched a lot after meeting with them in the summer. The timing wasn’t right then, but it certainly feels right now.
Sir Alex Ferguson told me: “don’t pick the club, pick the people,” and I have to say that the sporting director, Tamas Hajnal, and everybody else associated with the club were brilliant. They’re very professional and then know how to run a club.
Managing abroad was something I wanted to do again. I think you learn more about yourself, and I’m not one of these guys that’s scared to go abroad. I think the problem is a lot of coaches, especially English coaches, want to stay at home. As I’m Irish, maybe I’m happier to travel, go abroad and learn a bit more about different cultures and people to build myself. That was a big thing for me, and it’s something I said I wanted to do again when I left Maccabi.
I turned down a few good jobs that just didn’t feel right for me. I didn’t want to rush into something just for the sake of getting a job. It had to be the right one that fitted me and the staff. I’m working with the right people who have got the same ambition that I have.
I learned a lot in my previous job. Of course, you learn how to deal with players, to deal with certain situations. I also gained experience managing games on a regular basis. When you’re in Europe, a domestic league and in cups, you’ve got a lot of games, so how can you manage the squad and make sure everybody feels that they’re a part of the team?
The football philosophy I’ll bring is what I’ve brought to my previous team – attacking football on the front foot, trying to win the ball as quickly as possible and play an attractive style that the fans want to see. That’s the way I like to play. I want to enjoy watching my team, and I want the fans to enjoy watching them also. We won’t be playing for the sake of playing, we’ll play with a purpose, a bit of speed and of course, ultimately, scoring more goals than your opposition.
On the recruitment side of things, Tamas and I will sit down and go through things, players they’ve already identified who have been on the radar for a few months now. Of course, we’ll work closely and hopefully pick the right players to make this team successful going forward.
I’ll still keep up to date with the Premier League, as I watch a lot of football on my iPad. As a football person, you’re always watching games, no matter what. You’re of course busy watching a lot opposition teams you’ll be playing against, but for me as a manager it’s important to watch a lot of teams in all different leagues to see how they play.
I watched Liverpool v Manchester United and thought it was a really, really good game, which I don’t think people expected. United could have even won it at the end. Football is never easy. People thought Liverpool would win the game easily, but it doesn’t always work like that. United gave a good account of themselves and certainly looked better, but Liverpool are still on top of the league and they’re playing good football.
I’ll enjoy keeping up with the Premier League title race, while hopefully being involved in one of my own.
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