McGreal: I'm Here to Do the U23s But They've Asked Me to Step Up
Thursday, 9th Dec 2021 15:10

Interim manager John McGreal wouldn't be drawn on the prospect of leading the Blues long term but says he’s proud to be in charge, even if it’s almost certain to be only going to be on a short-term basis with Town in the hunt for a new permanent boss.

Former Town centre-half McGreal was put in temporary charge following Paul Cook’s sacking on Saturday and took the side for the first time at Charlton on Tuesday.

Asked whether CEO Mark Ashton is keeping him in the loop regarding developments regarding the permanent appointment and how long he might have the job, he said: “No, we’re obviously conversing. I’ll be here tomorrow to travel and take the game at the weekend and then we’ll have conversations going backwards and forwards.”

Quizzed on whether he has any thoughts of having the job long term, the 49-year-old responded: “I’m here to do a job for the Town. I’ve come in to do the U23s, they’ve asked me to step up. I can do what I can, the best I can, and then, as I say the conversations will be going on.

“I’m here to do the U23s and get into that level to develop the kids to get into the first team, the club has a proud history of that.”

He admits it was a proud moment when he was handed the reins, even if it is only on a temporary basis.

“It was brilliant. My mum and dad up north, my brothers, my kids, once we knew I’d got the interim role. It’s been brilliant,” he said.

“I live in the area as well, I’ve been here for a number of years. Even when I was at Colchester I lived in Ipswich so I’ve been able to watch games, even going back when Mick McCarthy was the manager.

“So I’ve always taken in the games, taken an interest in the club. The club’s been brilliant to me, so there’s no way I was going to turn my back on the club when they needed someone to come in and step in, that wasn’t going to happen.

“I’m just going to enjoy it as much as I can. I’m an honest guy and I’ll literally try and do what I can to win games of football.

“If not, when there’s a defeat, and there’s always going to be a defeat, what you do is to try to get the guys back and performing. That’s the most important thing, trying to get the max out of the guys form their performance levels.”

He admits it feels like his feet haven’t touched the ground in the last few days: “Exactly. To be fair, it is what it is, you’ve just got to get on with it, you’ve just got to pick yourself up, that’s what we’re looking to try and do.

“The performance [at Charlton] we know wasn’t good enough, 20 minutes was decent to a certain degree, but then after that we have to improve and you can see the boys’ emotions, the way they are after the game.

“It’s our job now to pick them up. We’ve got a big enough squad to do it and there’s no reason why they can’t do it.

“What better place to go than to a team that’s now second in the table to try and put on a good performance that the fans are looking for? That’s the main thing that the fans are looking for and if we do, we’ll get the three points.”

McGreal says his reflections on the game at the Valley haven’t changed much from his post-match assessment.

“Literally what I thought straight after the game,” he continued. “Twenty minutes in the game, 20 minutes isn't long enough in a game of football, especially in League One, especially going to a team that plays a high-energised way of playing.

“So, it was nowhere near good enough and we will take the accountability for that, and now the most important thing is to try and improve on that. We have to improve on that.

“That’s the most important thing. Try and take the positives out of it. I try to take the positives out of everything I can and get the guys going again.”

Regarding the confrontation between players and fans at the end, he added: “Listen, when they're coming in their thousands as they did the other night, I mentioned in the press conference afterwards, when they're coming in their thousands and it's two weeks before Christmas and it's raining and it's windy and they’re trying to get themselves across London to get to the game, they've got every right to have a moan.

“I'm not going to disagree at all with what's gone on. I think Toto has made his statement, so fair play to Toto for apologising to the fans.

“Emotions got the better of both parties the other night, but the fans have come in their thousands, so you know what, we needed to put on a better performance than we did.

“And we're hoping now there's going to be a reaction and we’ll put on a better performance this coming Saturday because there will be thousands there again, that's just the way the fans are. They live and die by the badge and we have to put on better performances.”

How have the lads been since Tuesday? “Really good. We had a bit of a good debrief. The conversations have been going on throughout. The boys have come back in again this morning really in good spirits.

“There just seems to have been a little bit of a change, hopefully we can maintain that change, especially from the other night. We’re just looking forward to just getting on the pitch to train and now looking forward to the game on Saturday.”

McGreal says he’d seen a fair bit of the team having been at Portman Road on a few occasions this season and also having been a visitor to the training ground when Paul Cook, a former team-mate at Tranmere, was in charge.

“I’ve been to quite a number of games,” he said. “I was at the last game prior to what actually happened [Cook’s sacking] and I’d watched a couple of games, and then I’d been out somewhere else watching different games just to keep my eye on League Two before coming into the U23s [job at Town].

“I know roughly the players as such because Paul was brilliant in the way I could come in and watch the training, so you get a rough idea of what the guys are about.”

How much can he implement of your style of football while in his current role? “Everything’s short term. The interim role is literally short term, game-time. I’ve come in to help the guys out. I’ve gone on record, it’s a massive shock, I’m here just to do what I can and the most important thing is to try and get the boys to play.

“We need to improve on the other night, there’s no question on that, they have to improve on the other night. They know that, they’ve realised that, they’ve also spoken about it.

“We keep saying that the proof is going to be in the pudding, so as much as what myself and the [coaching staff] can put on, it’s now up to the guys on the pitch to be accountable and to put on the performances we need to get the three points.”

He says the concentration is purely on Saturday’s game and not on any of the matches to come.

“Listen, Saturday is the most important game,” he insisted. “We can allude to the Barrow game, the Sunderland game and Gillingham over Christmas. The most important game for the club and for the players for the reaction is Saturday, and we're not looking beyond that at all.

“Training has been geared towards Saturday. The players' conversations and the staff conversations with the players have all been geared towards Saturday.

“So, we won't take our eye off the ball looking towards next week, we know it's going to be a big home game because there's a lot of press about it, but we're focused on the Wigan game, which is the most important game.”

With his family based in the North-West, has he had many requests for tickets for the Wigan game?

“Surprisingly there’s nothing happening at the moment with the Wigan game but I’m sure the phone calls will happen,” he said.

“It’s just been really quite normal. You know what type of lad I am, I was a quiet player when I was here years and years ago, I’m not one to get out and about, but I’ll probably need a couple of tickets come Saturday.”

Photo: Steve Waller

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