I CAN PICK UP THE CHERRIES
Woodgate keen to grasp chance
JONATHAN WOODGATE has admitted he made mistakes when he was in charge at Middlesbrough but is backing himself to lift Bournemouth out of their rut.
Woodgate, 41, was named caretakermanager by the Cherries on Wednesday after Jason Tindall was axed following the 2-1 home defeat by Sheffield Wednesday.
Woodgate won only nine matches out of 41 in his year in charge at Boro before being sacked last June.
Former England captain John Terry, currently assistant head coach at Aston Villa, is one of the favourites for the job and has indicated his interest, while ex-Nice coach Patrick Vieira has also been linked.
Now Woodgate has the chance to show what he can do, and he said: “I’m confident I can do this job. I would not have said I will take the team for today if I was not.
“You believe in your ability. If you went through the games at Middlesbrough, we had spells where we played some really good football and should have done better than we did.
“One of the mistakes at Boro was not bringing in someone alongside me with that experience of having been there and done it – that person to rely on to give you advice on what they would do in different situations.”
Woodgate only arrived at theVitality Stadium on Monday after the call from Tindall to come down and help and he admitted he was as surprised as anyone at the turn of events.
Bournemouth have now lost four Championship games in a row and are sixth in the table.
“I have been told to take the team for today’s game and that’s all I am concentrating on. I just want to get three points,” said Woodgate. “I didn’t think anything like this would happen so early. But managers come under pressure – it’s a cut-throat business.”