In his first major interview since taking charge at City, Stuart Pearce tells Chris Bailey about his plans for the Blues.
What has been the reaction to your appointment both within the club and from the supporters?
The response has been excellent. Maybe I have been a little bit shielded from what the public have been saying because I have been busy at the training ground virtually every hour of the day since I got the job, making sure I have got myself organised and getting things up and running how I want them to.
The response from the board members, the staff, and the players and, from what I can gather, the supporters has been fantastic. I just get the impression that everyone is willing me to succeed.
Kevin Keegan's departure was sudden, but perhaps in some ways that benefited me. I am one of those people who quite enjoys responsibility. I enjoy making the decisions.
To be fair, the chairman, chief executive and the board have all shown that they want to pull with me and demonstrated that they want to help me learn as I go along.
Make no mistake, I am not about to walk through the door in three or four days' time and announce that I know everything about football management. There are people who have been in this job for 20 years who will tell you that something new crops up every day. There will be a lot of pitfalls, that is for sure, but at the moment everyone concerned with City has been extremely proactive.
I suppose one of the ways to describe you as a player was 'uncompromising'. Will that be your management style too?
The way I was brought up by my parents and guided through my football life by the influences of various managers means that in some ways I am black and white.
There is a set of rules and a code of conduct that I believe that you should adhere to in life. I have lived my life that way and I expect the people who work for me to be the same way.
I want them to be fully committed to the work place and fully committed to the people they work for. I have been that as an individual over the years, even before I was a footballer.
I don't want to portray myself as a hard man in management or anything like that. I think management is about just that ' managing people via man-to-man skills. Make no mistake, you would prefer to work for someone who is going to put your arm around you at times and lift you.
Managers have been like that with me and I appreciated it. When I broke my leg for the second time, Harry Redknapp was on the phone the next day telling me there was a new contract waiting for me. I am not saying that it is right to do that for every player who breaks a leg, but it is a great example of man management.
So you will be an inclusive manager who will be happy to listen to the staff and players?
A I have made it totally clear to the players that my door will always be open. I am nothing without the players. They have to be 100 per cent behind me. For that to happen, they have to believe in what I am trying to achieve and how I am trying to achieve it ' not just for them, but the team.
Chairman John Wardle has made it clear that you are the manager and not just a caretaker but that the situation will be reviewed in the summer. Does that add more pressure?
I am doing the job with the mentality that I am going to be here a long time and I hope that I am.
I am in a results world. I was as a player and as a coach, and I am as a manager. If my results are not good I will lose my job. If Jose Mourinho's results are not good enough, he will lose his job.
As managers, we all have a level playing field and for me that is perfect. As long as the playing field is level and we are results-orientated and there are no personal grudges at all, then it's brilliant.
At this club, all I see is great backing all the way down for me and I will be judged on results like the next man. If the chairman, come the summer, deems that I am the man to be running this ship then that's brilliant too. It will be an absolute pleasure to be here.'
So do you have a target points figure in mind that you think will land you a long-term contract as boss and will the fact that the top four do not have to be played help or hinder you?
We have not got any of the bottom four either! All the games we have are winnable. If we go out there and do our level best in every game, then I will take my chances that the results will be more good than bad.
I would not openly say what my target number of wins or points would be, but I have in my own mind a figure of the number of matches that should be winnable and might HAVE to be winnable for me to keep my job!
The players had some pretty harsh words to say about the previous training regime. Are you giving them a say?
I do and I don't. There is such a short space of time for me to influence myself on the run-in to the end of the season that it has been a case of 'bang, bang, bang'. This is what needs to be addressed before the kick-off tomorrow.
I have put a bit more onus on one or two senior players to come and knock on my door if they feel something in training can improve the team.
Having said that, I am more than happy for even the youngest we have got here to come and talk to me about how they can improve as individuals and how that will benefit the whole.
What about the shape of the side? Are you an advocate of 4-4-2, 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 or none of those?
I am an advocate of picking a formation that will a football match. I will pick the formation and the personnel that I believe will win the next game. I have got no rigid formations in my mind.
I will look at the opposition, I will look at my squad and who is available and then I will deem what I think is the best team and system to go out and win that game.
No matter what age the players are, the ones showing the form to get in that team will be selected.
In a utopia you want to win matches by several goals and by playing a wonderful brand of football. But that's utopia.
I will do whatever it takes to win a football match. Results will dictate how long I stay in management. I can entertain all I want but if I get beat consistently then I will not have a job.
I come ostensibly from a club in Nottingham Forest that had a reputation for playing a decent brand of football. I want my City team to play up-tempo, quick-passing football.
What about contracts for next season, scouting, looking at new players to buy? Does all that begin now or are your hands tied by the nine games?
It has been made quite clear to me that this is my baby now. From what I can gather the recommending of new contracts will be my responsibility but that is something I will have to discuss fully with the chief executive Alistair Mackintosh, who has been great with me so far.
I need to find out the financial situation. What I can do and what I cannot do. They have made it clear that I will be recommending players that should stay and those who might need to go.
I will need to know whether I have to move one out to bring one in. The scouting system and the coaching staff will stay the same for the time being. It's an ideal time for me because I have a couple of months to look at everything, to keep myself in a job and assess what I have got around me. Then, if I deem it necessary, I can make any changes in the summer.
How much, then, have you changed from the man who briefly took charge at Forest nearly a decade ago without a great deal of success?
I have done all the badges and everything so that is different in a practical sense. When I look back now I wouldn't say that I cringe, but I start to realise how na've I was then. I feel much better suited to the job now. Much more comfortable within myself, more relaxed even.
I have a big job on my hands now, there is no mistaking that, but I feel as though I have a calmness within myself.
It is probably maturity if anything.
I am ready to work, I am ready for this job and I am ready for this challenge. I do not believe this job will be too much for me, but time will tell.
What do you think of Pearce's views? Have your say.
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He sounds like a man on a mission. He talked the talk lets hope he can walk the walk.
Good luck Stu tomorrow I think you have the fans on your side, let's go and get em!
Just going to the bathroom to sing "Give Pearce a Chance".
If the board have given him the job and told him that players contract is his baby then what happens in the summer if they appoint somebody else and he is saddled with players on extended contracts he doesnt want. Surely the logical thing to do is give Pearce till the end of the season managing with whats at the club then if they offer him the job he can deal with contracts then or if they offer the job to sombody else he can decide who he wants and doesnt. We dont want new contracts offering to players who a new manager doesnt want because apart from 3 or 4 players the rest would not command much of a fee and they wouldnt get better wages elsewhere.
Just like to wish Stu all the best. IMHO he speaks the truth and he will give 110%, he's loyal and wont take any messing. I hope all City fans can be patient with him and support him and hopefully he can end up being a great find and a superb manager. Good luck!!
I'd like to wish Psycho all the best in the managers job. Whether he's successful or not only time will tell, but the one thing I like about his appointment is that he's shown real passion for wanting the job. You can tell that he really loves the club and is detemined to do well. Peter Reid was in a similar position when he took over from Howard Kendall. During his time we always finished high in the league due to the commitment his team showed. Furthermore, our young players should get more of a look-in that Keegan would never have given them
I like the cut of his jib! Good luck Stu.
i'd like to endorse the supportive comments posted below and also, for once, thank the MEN for finally giving us something worth reading. Although I think the next 2 games will not yield much, I feel immeasurably happier having Pearce in charge for the forseeable future and am totally convinced we will not suffer the pitiful, uncommitted, clueless, spineless rubbish in the next 9 games that have characterised much of the last 40 plus...
good luck stu.... never been a more model proffesional....
i would love u to get the job and i for one will be singing we want stuart pearce say we want sturat pearce at the next home game.....robbie to get 2 and bwp to put on in to..
Intelligent article. Will be at Spurs tomorrow and happy to sing my heart out for the team and Stu.
CTID
Lets give Stu a chance, he may bring something that the fans and club need, like Commitment, Tenacity and Effort. Some of the things that appear to have been lacking recently. I beleive he will make the right changes, unlike KK, and get rid of the driftwood. He may motivate the youth that we have available and inspire some of the older quality that is hanging on. Like he says it all depends on results and if he does the business and has the passion that is required by the blue faithfull he might just pull it off. Good Luck Stu.
Give him a three year contract now. England will be after him one day, mark my words.
There's no bull with Stuart Pearce. The manner he conducts himself and expects others to follow is a breath of fresh air. Good luck Stuart!
He's making all the right noises but i've heard it all before from other managers, talk is cheap. Lets see what happens out on the pitch.
In the mean time lets all get 100% behind him and the team.
Good luck Psycho. Welcome to the show!
This interview tells us nothing and is a waste of time. Why publish an article which basically reads like a press release. Well Stuart, what was wrong with the training schedule, what have you done about it, why did n't you change things under keegan, what style of play do you want, are you going to release the deadwood, why is the atmosphere rubbish at COMS, why have the fans been asked to pay for season tickets before the season has ended, how many season tickets have been sold - all these questions and many others need to be raised - not necassarily towards Pearce but the club. I have renewed my season ticket but things have got to change otherwise thats it - going to city is a chore bit like washing the car - you do it because it needs doing - well thousands of us are fed up of the chore!
Have been impressed with Psycho's passion and desire for the job already. If he ends up being another Peter Reid i will be quite happy finishing fifth every season. i think the one thing Psycho will demand from his players is 110% effort in every game. Come on you blues. really looking forward to spurs now we owe em one for pinching three points at eastlands. CTID
Come on Blue Dave Denton cheers up kid !! Let's get behind Psycho and the team. This interview shows that Psycho is fired up. He's going to change the training regime at Carrington and hopefully that will mean an improvement on the pitch too - now is not the time for negativity - "Spurs are on their way to .. . . .
If people like Blue Dave have nothing positive to say about the club and think going to City is a chore, maybe they should stay at home or watch United. City Till I Die, because I love it.
What's all this "if he's a good as Reid" cobblers. We may have finished well in a couple of seasons under PR but the football was worse that the last two season under KK. Reid was an outdated dinosaur back when we had him and he's proved that wherever he's gone since with even quicker regularity. Psycho is his own man and I certainly hope 5 or 6 grades above Reid. the FIFA coaching will have given him a more modern outlook on tactics and training and as he says himself he is discplined as a person and well organised, something that will be reflected in our side in due course no doubt. The superb experience of watching 'old big 'ead' will have done him no harm either. I'm certain that at this early stage Psycho could have spent B#50million a damn sight better than KK, but then again my Gran could have spent it better than KK.
I for one have every faith in SP and not one of the names mentioned so far come even close to showing the commitment and desire he has. There's a great deal to be said for giving someone with determination the chance to prove themselves rather overpaying some 'name' who's not really that bothered.
Come on SP and come on you Blues.
At the end of the day, I could say all those things that psycho has stated, but talk means nothing. It's about winning football matches that count, and I believe the players will have a massive amount of respect for Pearce, which just might produce a few victories from now till the end of the season. Good luck Stuart, you'll certainly need it.
i think he is the man for the job
Get brian kidd in to be his righthand man for next season and lets see what sp got to offer city over a full season
Bob - western hemisphere - as a city fan I would like to kow what the targets are and how things will change - going around saying "city till I Die" is just infantile. We are all blue and will never change our colours but it does n't stop us wanting to know answers to questions which were n't raised in Bailey's rubbish story. Anyone could have said what Pearce said.
I've been on these pages for a whole week now saying how excited I am about Stuart taking over. But hell, why not say it again?! Not one bit of that interview was cliched, he gave concise, sensible and passionate answers to each of the questions posed. He would have learned immeasurably more about the game since the days when he was briefly in charge of Forest, and is honest enough to admit that he was naive back then. The questions were good, too, and it's the most exciting piece of City news I've come across since the 4-1 last season (honest). He has a good temperament, a solid and admirable work ethic, and most of all is brimming with confidence. I certainly don't agree, as has been suggested below, that it was all about merely "talking the talk." With a job to potentially lose (I don't think that will happen at all), why would he merely put himself on a pedestal at the risk of being shot down and looking silly. He's not promising us the sun, moon and stars, either, just saying that he is really confident of getting the best out of the lads, which can surely only be positive on the pitch from now until May (and beyond). I'm willing to be equally as brave, and risk being made to look silly, by saying that he'll be with us this time next year and doing rather well at that. I just hope his enthusiasm is as contagious with the players as it is with me and alot of other fans. My nightmare scenario is that he'll miss out on the job by narrowly falling short of a possible points target unluckily, and that the board will revert to the days of old, sack him in May, and get Gordon Strachan in. However, let's not even think of nightmares when we have such long overdue positivity here, something that's more solid than just "talking the talk." It is just the impetus we need to finish the season on a high. We may just, just, win three or four matches on the bounce in the coming weeks, but even if not, we're in good hands and should look forward to a brighter future, and not a false dawn. CTID
Great to see positive vibes from City for once after the last few months and good to hear what Stuart wants from the team. Best part for me was his determination to get results through total commitment but play the way football should be played.....'I want my City team to play up-tempo, quick-passing football.'
GOOD LUCK STUART!!!!!
Great interview from Pearce. Inspiring and reassuring. He is making a believer out of me.
i wish SP all the best for the next 9 games. He seems to be saying all the right things at the mo, and i truley believe he has the determination, drive and enthusiasm we as city fans have craved for some time. only time will tell if he is the right man for the job but lets give him the time he needs to prove himself, if we lose this weekend or next lets give him the time he deserves. i hope for the next 9 games all city fans sing his name and get behind the team, after all we have the best fans in the world. up the blues