All is fair in love and war at home with the Johnsons
THEY are a 380-mile road trip apart at opposite ends of the country, but fatherand-son football bosses Gary and Lee Johnson are united in ambition.
Each has been charged with attempting to revive the fortunes of clubs which have slipped to the lowest points in their history.
And if promotion is achieved at Torquay with dad Gary, and at Sunderland with son Lee, then expect a Johnson family party come the summer.
Gary laughed: “We certainly couldn’t be further apart right now geographically. Lee obviously wanted to get well away from his dad!”
Dad has managed at Bristol City, Cambridge United, Yeovil and Peterborough – in addition to a spell in charge of the Latvia national team.
Torquay had lost their EFL status and were marooned in National League South when Gary answered the call.
“They were miles below where they should have been and were crying out for some success,” he recalled.
“They had always looked after me when I visited as a manager at Bristol City and Yeovil and through that I got a bit of a feel for the place – but never expected to be the manager there.
“It was some demise to find themselves in the National League South.
“I managed to get them out of there and now to win promotion back into the Football League would be massive.” The Gulls are currently top of the National League and at the age of 65 Johnson knows his managerial days must be numbered.
But he insisted: “I love the job. I’ve had more than 1,000 games as a manager and won promotion twice out of the National League with Yeovil and Cheltenham.
“It would be nice to hang around and do it again. I’ve definitely got the energy. There’s no thoughts of retiring.”
Lee Johnson’s sacking as Bristol City manager paved the way for him to move into the
Sunderland hot seat.
Gary added: “We both managed Bristol City for almost the same amount of time – four years and eight months, except for a few weeks.
“I was delighted when Lee told me he was going to Sunderland.
“I think it’s a great time for him to take it. A bit like here at Torquay, there was a job to be done. He knows he has to put absolutely everything into it - let’s face it you normally only get jobs like ours when things aren’t going well.”
Now for 39-year-old Lee and his dad it means the calculators will be back out to see who can claim the managerial bragging rights.
Gary revealed: “I’m proud of my win percentage, around 40 per cent, when you look at the teams I’ve had.
“Lee and I have a friendly competition every Christmas when we get together and see who has the best win rate – last time I think I just beat him, but it was a small margin.”
Every Christmas we get together and see who has
best win rate