I don’t care one bit whether I was first choice or the 50th!
LAMBERT SURPRISED TO BE STOKE BOSS
HE MAY have been Stoke City’s fourth choice, but Paul Lambert does not care if he was ‘15th or 50th’. The new man at the bet365 Stadium, who has replaced Mark Hughes, was contacted after the Potters’ moves for Gary Rowett, Martin O’Neill and Quique Sanchez Flores failed.
But that is of no interest to former Aston Villa and Norwich City manager Lambert, who defended his record but admitted he was surprised to be given the opportunity to manage in the top flight again.
‘Whether I was 15th choice or 50th choice doesn’t matter to me one bit,’ he said. ‘I’m just delighted to be here and I’m excited. I thought I might not get another chance in the Premier League.’
The move for the former Celtic and Borussia Dortmund midfielder prompted criticism from sections of the club’s support but there was backing during Monday night’s 3-0 loss at Manchester United, where cries of ‘Paul Lambert’s barmy army’ were audible.
‘I started that chant,’ the new manager, whose side host Huddersfield, Watford and Brighton at home in three of their next four matches, joked.
Not that the criticism worries the thick-skinned former Champions League winner. ‘In Germany, would they have known who I was?’ he asked. ‘No they wouldn’t. I was a run-of-the-mill footballer playing with Motherwell going into a dressing room full of world-class players, having to hold my own.
‘I went to Dortmund with a bag of clothes not knowing what my next move was going to be. A year later I won the European Cup, so it’s not bad.’
Now Lambert believes the talent is all there to keep Stoke up. ‘I think sometimes you can sleepwalk into things when you think everything is a bed of roses,’ he said. ‘I’m trying to put my finger on why we are in this position.’
Lambert’s managerial record is not as bad as some would have you believe. He impressed at Wycombe, Colchester and Norwich. At Villa, he arrived at a time when money was sparse and, while in the midst of a poor run, departed with the club still in the Premier League.
‘I think it’s people’s perceptions that maybe I didn’t do a good job at Villa,’ he said. ‘But I think Aston Villa were only ever once in the bottom three and that was towards the end.’ He then kept Blackburn in the Championship and repeated the trick at Wolves — knocking Liverpool out of the FA Cup — before departing when the owners decided Jorge Mendes was the way forward.