'I’m going to try to create a different culture': Chris Coleman plots his great escape at Sunderland
The Welshman was frank and to the point as he laid out how he intends to rescue Sunderland from relegation
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Your support makes all the difference.Chris Coleman blows out his cheeks. “My memories of Sunderland?” he says. “Roker Park. I used to love playing there. Most managers have played football in their career and you remember things and I remember thinking, ‘Phwoar, this mob at Sunderland!’
“The backing the fans gave the team, especially when the team is showing something, that stands out. As soon as the word Sunderland was mentioned to me, I did not think, “We are bottom of the championship and been relegated, I just thought, ‘That is a big, big football club.’
“Instinctively I said yes.”
Sunderland felt alive as Coleman spoke at his official unveiling as the club’s new manager. It was hard not to feel the contrast to the moribund days of David Moyes (who preceded the similarly disastrous Simon Grayson). Then it felt like Sunderland were slipping slowly into the abyss. They still might, but Coleman at least was throwing punches.
The language felt more akin to when Niall Quinn breathed life through the club’s corridors. Coleman could not have pressed many more buttons in his attempt to galvanise supporters.
“This will possibly be the biggest club I will ever manage,” he said. “There aren't many clubs in the Premier League as big as Sunderland. If it’s not me, someone else will do it here, I hope to God it’s me.”
There was honesty: “It’s a daunting task” he said several times. He spoke of commitment: “If I wasn't committed I wouldn't move my wife and two young children up here.” He spoke of building a new culture and he said what Sunderland’s fans have needed to hear for some time.
“If you're pretending to give your best, that’s unforgivable. We need to get the supporters back with us and marching with us.”
There was energy and there was pride and there has not been an awful lot of that at the Stadium of Light since Sam Allardyce took the England job in the summer of 2016. Then Sunderland were a Premier League club and when Moyes arrived he spent £30m. Nonetheless, he failed to offer due diligence and gave the impression - which he confirmed when he joined West Ham - that he regretted taking over at Sunderland.
There was no suggestion of regret from Coleman, who insisted a difference of opinion with the Wales FA was why he had ended his six-year stint as the nation’s manager. He revealed there would be no great transfer kitty to dip into in January in his new post.
“I am not going to pull punches, an area we need to look at is recruitment,” he added. “I’m not going into January with millions of pounds to spend. I haven't been promised huge transfer funds.
“My first meeting with players has been good. Really, it’s all about transparency. If players come off the pitch having tried everything you have asked them, and you do not get three points, fair enough but as long as they have tried that.
“Yes, of course the players were flat, it’s another new face, another new manager. It’s hard for them, but they’re involved as well, they’ve got a responsibility, they have to take responsibility. I’ll take all the responsibility; I have no problem with that. People can point fingers, but I’ll point them back. There will be no excuses. Let’s start inching our way forward.
“I’m going to try to create a different culture to the one that is here. It doesn’t mean it’s better, that’s just the way I work. I look at the players and there is talent there, but they have to understand my game plan and what I want.
“I want accountability, and the players have to be accountable. I want to remove all the excuses. Once you do that it’s a much better environment to work in. To do that, they have to know what is expected Monday to Friday then put that into practise on a Saturday. If you haven’t got perseverance and resilience, forget your talent, talent won’t matter. You need more than that. There are some good players here? Yes. Do they have the perseverance and resilience? I hope so.
“I haven't come here with a bag of magic.”
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