Chairman Pete Winkelman spoke with the local media on Wednesday to reflect on the departure of Paul Tisdale and the appointment of Russell Martin…
On appointing Russell Martin…
“This was not what we planned. It's early but I knew I wanted to give this guy a job. When we saw things go wrong for Paul, I immediately thought Russell. We were having to make that massive decision and I made this change really quickly. I didn't tell him to take the job, there was no pressure. I could have got any reaction, but I got the one I wanted from him. He wants to dive in and make a difference.”
On choosing Russell Martin…
“When Russell first came in, he came with all the qualifications behind him and was already on his Pro Licence and doing a football management diploma too. Over the last couple of weeks, I was doing background work and what people have said to me about him has only reinforced the idea. He has all the qualities to become a successful manager and if he's a successful manager, he'll do it here.”
On parting company with Paul Tisdale…
“A month ago, none of us thought about this decision but football is about results. Results on the pitch were, for some reason, catastrophic. We've had injuries but that's what everyone was judging us on. I didn't want to sleepwalk into another relegation battle. It was sad, even shocking to see Paul go, but I don't think I made the wrong decision. I believe it was the right decision for the club. I had a great relationship with Paul and I never felt he was shirking his responsibility. If anything, I think he was trying too hard. We reached a point when we had injuries that he had to think about his team different, but if you don't get results, your confidence gets shattered and I felt we had to do something about it straight away.”
On mood after recent form…
“It has been a horrendous few weeks and perhaps the style with which we ended up losing with played a part too. It's not the football we saw last season when we were flying. We haven't looked good and sometimes you feel there's a change in the air. Suddenly, though, the club is buzzing, out of the doldrums and we haven't even played a game. I've not given him the easiest task at all, but I am quite excited.”
On confidence in the squad…
“We've not suddenly got bad players. We've got a good group who are under-performing because of a lack of confidence. But, we haven't got all the ammunition we'd have liked and already I can see changes in January.”
On Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup tie with Port Vale…
“I'm really looking forward to Saturday. I’ve been so ill this week, banning myself from the stadium because I’m contagious, but I’m still very excited. It won't all turn around with a click of our fingers. We need to give him the chance to find his feet and to experiment with his team, and the players a chance to come back and give us positivity to pull us through.”
