oldskyblue58
CCFC Finance Director
http://www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk/n...amond_club_christmas_lunch_848222/index.shtml
City boss looking forward to January transfer window
The main guest speaker at today''s Coventry City Diamond Club lunch was the club''s manager Steven Pressley. He was accompanied by his assistand coach Neil McFarlane.
Joe Elliot and Stephen Pressley
Interviewed by Joe Elliott, Steven Pressley spoke about his first stint at the club as a young, inexperienced player. He joined the Sky Blues in 1994 and admitted he was lured south of the border by the thought of playing in the Premier League, but found it a lot harder than he thought it would be and it was his inexperience that led to one red card and 6 or 7 yellow cards in his 19 appearance for the club.
While he was at Coventry he lived with fellow Scot Gary Gillespie, but found it hard to settle away from his family in Scotland, a situation not helped by his father''s battle with cancer and subsequent death. He moved back to Scotland where he joined Hearts and it was there where he enjoyed most of his success, winning the Scottish Cup and finishing 2nd in the SPL. He compared the similarites between Hearts and Coventry City in that both clubs had finacial problems and issues with their stadiums, but both clubs have supwerb academies and great staff.
Neil McFarlane met Steven Pressley at Hearts where the two became close friends and followed Presley to Falkirk when he took the manager''s job there, a decision he does not regret at all. Both men have moved to the area with their families and now live in the same road in Leamington Spa.
Pressley''s time at Falkirk gave him experience of working with a very limited budget and bringing academy players into the first team, which left him in good stead when he joined Coventry City.
Pressley said he was fully commited to the job of managing Coventry City and is enjoying the challenge. He went on to say that although he isn''t a huge fan of the January transfer window, he was looking forward to it this time as it will be the first one since he became manager at City where he was not hampered by embargoes and other uncertainties.
The reason he gave for not liking the January transfer window was because clubs don''t usually release their better players unless they are nearing the end of their contracts. In the past he has been at the end of the queue and has not been successful in bringing in the targets he wanted.
He revealed that McFarlane and he usually watch their target players 7 or 8 times before making a decision to sign them, but that has not been possible because of the financial situation at the club and that some players he has signed haven''t lived up to expectation because he didn''t have sufficient opportunity to assess them properly. He is optimistic that this coming January will be different because he or McFarlane have scouted their targetted players.
Hes keen to reduce the amount of loan players either by allowing some to return to their parent clubs or bringing them in on permanent deals.
The one vital component for Pressley is the Academy, but he sees it as an important source of players for the first team ratrher than a production line of players to be sold to other clubs. He sees little point in developing talent if it cannot be used and the best way to develop thattalent is to give it a chance in the first team. He is excited by the current crop of youngsters currently playing for the under 16''s, under 18''s and the under 21''s and is looking forward to giving them the chance to feature in the first team.
Pressley said that Barcelona is a club that do things right, with a blend of a successful academy and bringing in and developing talent. He also cited Liverpool as a cautionary example of getting it wrong in selling Suarez then losing Sturridge to injury and being unable to cope with their loss.
Pressley said he did not want to lose Calum Wilson and was hopeful of retaining his services but it was acombination of factors that led to his sale. Lack of success, playing in front of meagre crowds at Sixfields and the player himself wanted to play at a higher level.
He reiterated the desperate need for some sort of success at the club in order to keep the better players and that without success there will be a continuous exodus of players making any success more difficult.
Speaking of his management and coaching philosophy, Pressley said it is important fthat coaches develop the player for his own benefit as well as the for the benefit of the club. He touched on last night''s JPT loss at Bristol City and said he had prepared the side for the game and was pleased with his game plan in the first half, but was less than pleased with the manner of Bristol''s opening goal.
As for the FA Cup loss at home to Worcester City, he said he was so embarrassed tha he locked himself in house and couldn''t face going out for days afterwards and he apologised for abject performance that day.
Both Pressley and McFarlane said they are very passionate in their work at the club and are eager to turn the club around. he said he can accept individual mistakes, even costly ones, but he can''t accept a lack of passion and commitment.
As for training, the pair said they encourage the players to pass and move and to keep possesion of the ball and is very encouraged at performances on the training ground, but less happy in actual games. He said the inconsitencies are proving costly in terms of points, but he is optimistic the club can climb the table and possibly push for a top six finish.
City boss looking forward to January transfer window
The main guest speaker at today''s Coventry City Diamond Club lunch was the club''s manager Steven Pressley. He was accompanied by his assistand coach Neil McFarlane.
Joe Elliot and Stephen Pressley
Interviewed by Joe Elliott, Steven Pressley spoke about his first stint at the club as a young, inexperienced player. He joined the Sky Blues in 1994 and admitted he was lured south of the border by the thought of playing in the Premier League, but found it a lot harder than he thought it would be and it was his inexperience that led to one red card and 6 or 7 yellow cards in his 19 appearance for the club.
While he was at Coventry he lived with fellow Scot Gary Gillespie, but found it hard to settle away from his family in Scotland, a situation not helped by his father''s battle with cancer and subsequent death. He moved back to Scotland where he joined Hearts and it was there where he enjoyed most of his success, winning the Scottish Cup and finishing 2nd in the SPL. He compared the similarites between Hearts and Coventry City in that both clubs had finacial problems and issues with their stadiums, but both clubs have supwerb academies and great staff.
Neil McFarlane met Steven Pressley at Hearts where the two became close friends and followed Presley to Falkirk when he took the manager''s job there, a decision he does not regret at all. Both men have moved to the area with their families and now live in the same road in Leamington Spa.
Pressley''s time at Falkirk gave him experience of working with a very limited budget and bringing academy players into the first team, which left him in good stead when he joined Coventry City.
Pressley said he was fully commited to the job of managing Coventry City and is enjoying the challenge. He went on to say that although he isn''t a huge fan of the January transfer window, he was looking forward to it this time as it will be the first one since he became manager at City where he was not hampered by embargoes and other uncertainties.
The reason he gave for not liking the January transfer window was because clubs don''t usually release their better players unless they are nearing the end of their contracts. In the past he has been at the end of the queue and has not been successful in bringing in the targets he wanted.
He revealed that McFarlane and he usually watch their target players 7 or 8 times before making a decision to sign them, but that has not been possible because of the financial situation at the club and that some players he has signed haven''t lived up to expectation because he didn''t have sufficient opportunity to assess them properly. He is optimistic that this coming January will be different because he or McFarlane have scouted their targetted players.
Hes keen to reduce the amount of loan players either by allowing some to return to their parent clubs or bringing them in on permanent deals.
The one vital component for Pressley is the Academy, but he sees it as an important source of players for the first team ratrher than a production line of players to be sold to other clubs. He sees little point in developing talent if it cannot be used and the best way to develop thattalent is to give it a chance in the first team. He is excited by the current crop of youngsters currently playing for the under 16''s, under 18''s and the under 21''s and is looking forward to giving them the chance to feature in the first team.
Pressley said that Barcelona is a club that do things right, with a blend of a successful academy and bringing in and developing talent. He also cited Liverpool as a cautionary example of getting it wrong in selling Suarez then losing Sturridge to injury and being unable to cope with their loss.
Pressley said he did not want to lose Calum Wilson and was hopeful of retaining his services but it was acombination of factors that led to his sale. Lack of success, playing in front of meagre crowds at Sixfields and the player himself wanted to play at a higher level.
He reiterated the desperate need for some sort of success at the club in order to keep the better players and that without success there will be a continuous exodus of players making any success more difficult.
Speaking of his management and coaching philosophy, Pressley said it is important fthat coaches develop the player for his own benefit as well as the for the benefit of the club. He touched on last night''s JPT loss at Bristol City and said he had prepared the side for the game and was pleased with his game plan in the first half, but was less than pleased with the manner of Bristol''s opening goal.
As for the FA Cup loss at home to Worcester City, he said he was so embarrassed tha he locked himself in house and couldn''t face going out for days afterwards and he apologised for abject performance that day.
Both Pressley and McFarlane said they are very passionate in their work at the club and are eager to turn the club around. he said he can accept individual mistakes, even costly ones, but he can''t accept a lack of passion and commitment.
As for training, the pair said they encourage the players to pass and move and to keep possesion of the ball and is very encouraged at performances on the training ground, but less happy in actual games. He said the inconsitencies are proving costly in terms of points, but he is optimistic the club can climb the table and possibly push for a top six finish.
