LATICS SURPRISE WITH JOYCE CALL
WHEN Wigan sacked Gary Caldwell a couple of weeks ago, not many fans would have expected Warren Joyce to become the new manager.
Latics supporters may have expected brash young chairman David Sharpe to go for a big name or an established boss.
But then again, Sharpe has already shown he is prepared to do his own thing, shocking most football experts by sacking Caldwell just six months after he had led Wigan to the League One title.
Appointing the unheralded Joyce may be seen as a gamble in some quarters, but the 51year-old does have a decent pedigree. A lengthy playing career saw the midfielder feature for Bolton, Preston, Plymouth, Burnley and Hull, where he also had a stint as player-manager.
After a spell mananging Royal Antwerp, Joyce has spent the past eight years coaching the Manchester United reserves, helping to develop their young players.
The new manager knows there will be people who doubt his credentials to take over a Championship outfit, but just wants a fair crack of the whip.
“I can’t tell people what to think about me,” he said. “They’ll make their own minds up about players and management and it’s usually geared around what they see.
“The things they see in matches are how they will judge me in my time here. That’s how you like to be judged in football and that’s how I think I have been judged in the past at all of the clubs I have been at.”
Knowledge
And he has stressed that he has a decent knowledge of the players at his disposal and the Latics’ Championship rivals. “I know the majority of the players from watching games over the last few years as we had many players out on loan in the division from Manchester United – a number of whom helped Hull City and Leicester City to win promotion,” he said. “I’ve probably spent more time out there watching the Championship than I did the first team at Manchester United so I am very familiar with a lot of the players here and the way a lot of teams play.”
Sharpe is convinced he has found the right man to guide the Latics forward.
“Warren’s great at developing younger players, putting his time into them and coaching them into becoming winners and better footballers,” he said.
“But he also relies upon experience too, like we already have, so it’s the perfect blend for our club at this moment in time.”
Another Championship club who have resolved their managerial situation are Wolves.
The Midlanders were searching for a replacement for the axed Walter Zenga and have plumped for former Wycombe, Colchester, Norwich, Aston Villa and Blackburn manager Paul Lambert, pictured left.
Ambitious
The 47-year-old ex-Scotland international had a tough task at rudderless Blackburn before leaving at the end of last season and would have a better chance of achieving success at ambitious Wolves.
His appointment came after Wolves slipped to a 3-2 defeat at home against Derby yesterday.
“We are delighted that Paul has agreed to become our new head coach,” said Wolves director Jeff Shi. “He arrives at Wolves with extensive managing experience at different levels, in recent years in the Premier League and the Championship. Myself and Kevin (Thelwell – sporting director) have spent many hours with Paul during the lengthy interview process, and have been very impressed with his thoughts on football and his vision for Wolves.
“Ourselves and Paul share the same vision and the same mission – to achieve promotion from the Championship as soon as possible and then aim for a higher goal in the Premier League.”
One manager’s job currently up for grabs is at League Two outfit Grimsby Town, following Paul Hurst’s departure for League One side Shrewsbury Town.
One of the leading contenders for the job is Solihull Moors manager Marcus Bignot.
The 42-year-old former QPR right-back has impressed with the job he has done at Solihull over the last five years, leading them into the National League.
In midweek, Moors granted Bignot permission to speak to Grimsby.
In a statement, the club said: “The board wishes to place on record that whilst it would not wish to stand in the way of an individual's ambition, it is eager to retain the services of Bignot to continue the progression he has made at the club in his five-year tenure. It is hoped that the talks will reach a swift resolution to ensure minimum disruption for all parties.”