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Abbott Gets Permanent Brunton Park Post

Last updated : 06 December 2008 By Thetashkentterror
New Blues boss Greg Abbott
After failing to earn the full-time job last time in October 2007, following the sacking of Neil McDonald, Abbott has this time been given the chance to do things his way in a deal that runs until the end of next season. Greg, having been caretaker manager for six games recently, after the dismissal of the man who took over from McDonald, in John Ward, his record in those matches being three wins, a draw and two defeats.

Two of those defeats have come after a three match unbeaten run following the sacking of Ward who had seen his side fail to win for twelve matches in a row. Abbott has been at the club for two years now after coming in as first-team coach behind McDonald. Now though he takes over the post on a permanent basis, the former Leeds United youth team coach commenting to BBC Radio Cumbria :

" In a personal way it is a relief but it is not all about me. It is about the whole of the football club and what it is right for the club. I did say that an early appointment and a swift appointment has got to be the best way for everybody. It was important to get a couple of results for me personally for the job, we have done that and they have decided with the bits and pieces that we have got going on to let me have a go at it.

" I am grateful for that but I just want to go on and prove now that we can do this and take the club forward. Everybody else seems to think I will be more ready this time, but I thought that I was ready last time, but I am impatient at times. Looking at the whole picture probably if I am dead honest then I have gained a bit of experience from that time and place for sure.

" This time around I have been a little bit calmer, made decisions with obviously a lot of thought and it is important that you make these big decisions, take your time over them and hopefully get them all right. So I suppose looking at the bigger picture I think that deep down if I am perfectly honest I suppose that it has benefited me, but I was anxious. "



Meanwhile Blues managing director John Nixon said on Abbott's appointment :

" It isn't a decision that we took lightly, obviously Greg had a go at the job last year, he has been trying the job again almost 12 months later. It isn't all on one result, it was watching what happened over these five or six games and seeing what was going on both on the field and off the field behind the scenes. Also the way that he tackled the job and he was looking to the long-term on all of these issues rather than just the short-term, which you would have expected a caretaker manager to be doing.

" Continuity helps because we have the same back-room staff and obviously we have got the same team running through as well. He is looking forward now on a longer term basis, he knew the players that were here so he didn't have to go through all that relearning process with someone new. So we have got a good continuity running through the club. "