‘IT’S TIME FOR ME TO STEP UP’
Lucketti relishing being boss
NEW Bury boss Chris Lucketti says he has learned from one of the nation’s best managers in Graham Alexander.
Lucketti, 46, took the reins at Gigg Lane on Thursday - 18 years after he made the last of his 287 appearances for the Shakers.
He replaces Lee Clark, who was sacked in late October after a run of three wins in 17 games left Bury in the League One drop zone.
The pressure is on to deduce why such a lavishly talented squad has flopped so dramatically but, after a five-year apprenticeship as No.2 to Alexander at Fleetwood and Scunthorpe, the former centreback insists he’s up for the task.
Grateful
“Graham is the best person I could possibly have learned from,” said Lucketti, who also played for Halifax, Huddersfield and Preston before joining Neil Warnock’s Sheffield United and making his Premier League debut aged 35.
“Believe me, he’s going right to the very top in management and I’m grateful for everything he’s done for me over the last five years. We’ve enjoyed some unbelievable times. “We actually had very similar careers. We started fairly low down, both ended up in the Premier League at a ripe old age. “We played together for five years at Preston and always remained in touch after we left. The way we think, our ideas on football are the same. He was my best man in the summer and I hold him in the highest regard, both as a friend and as a professional. “I’ve learned so much from working with him and I’m sure I’d have learned more if I stayed. But I also feel like I’ve served my time – I’m ready for that extra bit of pressure and responsibility.”
Such is Lucketti’s burgeoning reputation as a coach that he didn’t even send a CV to Bury chairman Stewart Day.
“No, I didn’t apply,” he says. “I was under contract at Scunthorpe, happy in my job. They came looking for me. Stewart asked for permission to speak to me and thankfully it was granted. After that it was full steam ahead. It’s always nice to be wanted, especially by an old club.”
Relegated in his final season as a player at Gigg Lane, Lucketti must find a way to prevent history repeating itself – and get Championship players like Jermaine Beckford and Harry Bunn showing Championship form.
“That’s the reason I’m here,” he adds. “The squad is very, very talented, but obviously something hasn’t been right since the summer. My job is to solve those problems and hopefully that talent will show through.
“Have I spoken to Lee Clark? No, and I won’t. I want to come in fresh and assess the the whole squad with my own eyes.
“What I do know is that if you’ve got spirit and togetherness, the talent will look after itself. That’s what we need to work on.”
Ability
Above all, Lucketti wants his new charges to “maximise” their ability. “That’s something I always talk about,” he explains. “I maximised myself as a player and that was on a limited training ground at Lower Gigg. “These lads have got Carrington, one of the best complexes in the country. It wants for nothing, so there’s no excuse for any of these players. As far as I’m concerned, if you can’t improve with facilities like this, you shouldn’t be in the game.