Fantastic. Loving every minute of it.
How does the set-up at the club compare to others that you’ve worked at?
Yeah, well, like I’ve said before and like I said when I first came in, there is a lot of things to sort out and there is a few things that I’d like done my way and that will change. Things will be done at the club that I feel are the right way to do it and I’m looking forward to sorting all that out. It won’t happen in a couple of weeks but a few things have changed already and we are going to become a very, very good club again.
Did you ever think twice about becoming manager of Notts County, especially with all that has happened at Coventry recently?
No; as soon as the job was offered to me there was no doubt in my mind that that was what I wanted to do, I want to manage. I’ve been coaching at Coventry, managed for six-years at non-league and coaching for Coventry for two and it was always management that I wanted to do and become a manager so, what better place to start in the league than Notts County, which was a great club for me as a player. It is the city that I live in now and I am looking forward to taking the club forward.
Did you know Gary McAlister was planning on stepping down as Coventry manager?
Er....I had an idea when I was there. Obviously Gary has got personal problems with his family and it was very, very difficult for him. This is a tough job anyway and to have family problems as well, it wasn’t easy for him. So he was gutted and I was gutted that he had to step down. He is a great man and a fantastic player and I’m sure one day he’ll get back into management.
How do you feel the players have responded to your arrival as manager?
I think they’ve done very well. They’ve worked hard but I can’t comment – probably John [Gaunt] can comment better than me – but I couldn’t comment on how they were doing before. But since I’ve been here, apart from not being able to win a game, we’ve played very well. The boys are working hard and playing well, so if they continue to do that then we’ll get rewards for that and start winning football matches.
Are there any players in particular that you’ve been impressed with since taking over?
I think there is a few players that have impressed me with the desire to play and the hunger to play and we have got some good players so we have to make sure that those good players start playing with better players to the club and I’m going to bring better players to the club. I’ve just brought in Stefan Oakes who, in my opinion, is a very good player, he‘s got a lot of qualities. So if we can bring in players like Stefan to go along with the other players who are here already, who are good players in my opinion, then we can become a very good side. But again, it’s not going to happen over night and it is going to take a little bit of time, but that will happen.
And is there any players who you feel haven’t given their all since you’ve taken over?
(Smiles) That is a very tough question to answer that one. Errrm....... no. Everybody that’s played, everybody in training has been committed and if anybody is not at this club now then it’s because they haven’t given their all and I don’t feel they’re good enough and that is the fact of life in football, if they are not good enough then you have to try and get them out and get better players in. But while they are here and they are good enough then there is no excuse for not giving 100 per cent. So far everybody has given 100 per cent and responded very well, I think.
What do you feel are the team’s strengths and weaknesses?
Again, I think we’ve got players now. We’ve brought in a couple of players in; we’ve brought Mickael [Antoine] Curier in today*, he signed for us yesterday. He’s a striker that we need, he’s a big striker and we feel, myself and John, that we’ve missed that big striker and now we’ve got Mickael in, I think we’ll see a difference. So, we’ve got a lot of strengths because we work hard, and that’s our big strength. We’ve got Stefan [Oakes] in along with Darren Caskey, and lads with the ability of those two who are more than capable of creating goals. With Mickael and Paul Heffernan, who’s now getting back to full fitness, we’ve got a chance of scoring goals as well so I think people will start to see a difference over the next few weeks.
It’s a bit hard to ask with John here (John Gaunt sat in the corner), but are you at the possibility of bringing in your own assistant manager?
Well at this moment in time, John knows he is my assistant manager and John’s got to stay on his toes and do a good job, and if he does a good job then he might just stay as my assistant manager. But that’s now it works, because if I don’t do my job well then I’ll get the sack, you know how football works. But I am determined to, there has been too many football managers over the last few years at this football club over the last few years, and I want to be here for a long, long time.
JG: Thanks for that one!
*Interview recorded on Friday
For the Second Part of our exclusive interview with Gary Mills where, amongst other things, Mills talks about the Tony Hackworth situation, check back to NCM tomorrow.