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Adams in manager role reminded of Arsenal days
High Wycombe, England, Feb 02: Two divisions and an entire Premier League table separate Tony Adams`s old home, Arsenal, from his first manager`s job.
High Wycombe, England, Feb 02: Two divisions and an entire Premier League table separate Tony Adams's old home, Arsenal, from his first manager's job.
The former Arsenal defender and one-time England captain took charge of Wycombe Wanderers, the second division's lowest-ranked club, in November, keen to learn the hard way about football management.
At Wycombe's 10,000-capacity ground 30 minutes west of London, Adams said his first three months had reminded him of his early steps in professional football.
''This takes me right back -- I feel like when I was 17 trying to get in the first team at Arsenal,'' said Adams. ''I was learning and I was hurting. It's hard work.''
Adams, who won 10 major trophies in 18 years at the heart of the Arsenal defence, has had his work cut out transforming a team that had taken only 11 points in 17 games before his arrival.
But he says: ''I've loved every minute of it.
''Culture shock? It's really different from Arsenal but when I joined Arsenal it wasn't the magnificent club it is today. The facilities here are far better than when I originally started at Arsenal.''
Adams, 37, started a university degree in sports science after hanging up his boots in 2002 but the lure of football proved too strong and he began his managerial career.
Asked what he had learned so far about management, Adams said: ''It's all about relationships.'' he initially upset players by being too frank with them and with newspapers.
However, he said: ''i'm not a guy to close up. I'm not like that today. You're not going to get a deadpan 'no comment'. You're always going to get a comment from me and I'm going to tell it how it is.''
Adams reeled off a list of more practical concerns: ''I've learnt about diets at this level, professionalism at this level...I've learned lots. Loans are just a minefield.''
He said: ''It will never bother me just because players at this level are technically not as good as the Premier League. The thing that bothers me is if players are not as professional -- at any level you can still be a professional player.''
So far Wycombe have remained at the bottom of division two but Adams said: ''The tactics that I've got at the moment are right for the personnel that I've got. They're confident playing the system that I've been playing for the last games and that's the way forward at this moment...A game at a time.''
Bureau Report
The former Arsenal defender and one-time England captain took charge of Wycombe Wanderers, the second division's lowest-ranked club, in November, keen to learn the hard way about football management.
At Wycombe's 10,000-capacity ground 30 minutes west of London, Adams said his first three months had reminded him of his early steps in professional football.
''This takes me right back -- I feel like when I was 17 trying to get in the first team at Arsenal,'' said Adams. ''I was learning and I was hurting. It's hard work.''
Adams, who won 10 major trophies in 18 years at the heart of the Arsenal defence, has had his work cut out transforming a team that had taken only 11 points in 17 games before his arrival.
But he says: ''I've loved every minute of it.
''Culture shock? It's really different from Arsenal but when I joined Arsenal it wasn't the magnificent club it is today. The facilities here are far better than when I originally started at Arsenal.''
Adams, 37, started a university degree in sports science after hanging up his boots in 2002 but the lure of football proved too strong and he began his managerial career.
Asked what he had learned so far about management, Adams said: ''It's all about relationships.'' he initially upset players by being too frank with them and with newspapers.
However, he said: ''i'm not a guy to close up. I'm not like that today. You're not going to get a deadpan 'no comment'. You're always going to get a comment from me and I'm going to tell it how it is.''
Adams reeled off a list of more practical concerns: ''I've learnt about diets at this level, professionalism at this level...I've learned lots. Loans are just a minefield.''
He said: ''It will never bother me just because players at this level are technically not as good as the Premier League. The thing that bothers me is if players are not as professional -- at any level you can still be a professional player.''
So far Wycombe have remained at the bottom of division two but Adams said: ''The tactics that I've got at the moment are right for the personnel that I've got. They're confident playing the system that I've been playing for the last games and that's the way forward at this moment...A game at a time.''
Bureau Report