Team to trust

Photo: PICTURE: GARETH LOWE

FINGER ON THE PULSE: Lee Johnson in his office at Boundary Park.

WHEN he was named as the man to save Athletic’s skin in League One four months ago, rookie manager Lee Johnson had plenty to prove.

The misfiring squad at Boundary Park was suffering from a peculiar malaise. There was clearly talent on board, as the FA Cup run showed - but there was an absent ingredient, as proved by the team’s abysmal home record.

With relegation a possibility, plenty of fans wanted a steady, experienced manager. They got an unheralded former Yeovil and Bristol City midfielder.

Chairman Simon Corney was convinced he was lucky to nail down a coaching talent heading for the top of the game.

Johnson guided Athletic to safety with time to spare. The youngest manager in the Football League at 32, Johnson now faces the real test: addressing the issues from last season and improve Oldham’s fortunes.

In this interview with Matthew Chambers, Johnson explains just how he plans to do it



Matthew Chambers: How are you enjoying the job?

Lee Johnson: I’m loving it. It has moved into serious territory now that the honeymoon period has gone - but that was still the most intense period of my life anyway.

But I really like the people at the club. I get on really well with the chairman and the board and I’m pleased with my staff and the group we have got in, considering our circumstances.



MC: Has it been more difficult than you expected bringing new players in?

LJ: No. I have been pleased that the players I wanted, I got. I wasn’t expecting that.

It was a case of staying in touch and being constant in pursuit of the five or six who I would consider to be the main ones. I’m pleased I eventually got them.



MC: Were there any particular areas of weakness within the squad you wanted to address with the player recruitment this summer?

LJ: Yes, the fact we didn’t have any electric pace anywhere. We have certainly added that.

We were due to lose some key players. So we had to add a new spine, within the salary cap and bearing in mind our crowds aren’t massive. It has been a balancing act. We have done very well getting Mark Oxley on loan, which has allowed us to spend elsewhere. Hull helped us there and we need that sort of help from our friends to have any chance of having a go.

In an ideal world, I would have more experience. We haven’t got it, so we have to gain it together instead.

If you buy in proven players, you double your budget. So you bring in those who have a bit of

experience but who are at the right age that they are still hungry and who can push on. That is what I

have tried to do. The good thing with Simon Corney and the board is, they have done exactly what they said they would. That’s all you can ask for as a manager.



MC: Off the field you have had a change-round in coaching staff. What sort of impact has that had?

LJ: Every staff member I have had here has been great. I was gutted to lose Paul Gerrard, because I liked him a lot. Then the opportunity came to bring in someone of the quality and reputation of Bobby Mimms as a replacement. We are dead lucky to have him.

We have five people doing the jobs or eight or nine, so we have to make sure everyone is hard working.

Paul Murray has been a credit for the effort he has put in and Billy Quarmby works all hours. I know people don’t generally know what he does but trust me, he sweeps up around organisation-wise. And I sense it hasn’t always been as organised as it could have been, this place.

Tony Philliskirk was brilliant for me last year and now he has a massively important role in bringing the young players through. We work together closely still.

Then there are all those people who back on to that. We might have a whinge now and again, but really we all love it.



MC: How realistic is it to hope for a top-six place next season?

LJ: You can look at it both ways. It is unrealistic as far as the league table of budgets is concerned. At the same time, we all know what can be done with backing, spirit, togetherness, hard work and good quality. The thing I want to guarantee is that the supporters know they have a team going out there that they can trust. A team that will give their all while playing good football and which contains no shrinking violets.



MC: Your dad (Gary Johnson) overachieved last season with Yeovil. How much advice do you still get from him?

LJ: We have both been so busy this summer that we have cross-referenced a couple of players past each other and that is about it. We have always leaned on each other and it is natural — anyone would with their parents. Especially so when my dad has been so successful. My mum, too, has seen it from a different angle.



MC: There seem to be a number of players in the squad who may spring a surprise — Jonson

Clarke-Harris and Sidney Schmeltz for example, who other teams may not have seen a lot of. How important are players like that?

LJ: They have to hit the ground running, don’t they? Once you get to 10 games in, if you are up there in the table then they will know all about them.

We do need to shock a few, and we may be able to capitalise on a few people underestimating us.

As a club we have to have a siege mentality. Not many are expecting anything from us — if you look at the relegation odds, we are one of the favourites to go down — but we can use that to our benefit. Big teams may relax when playing against us. And we know we have a better squad than the bookies’ odds suggest.



MC: Finally, the fans have got behind you as a manager. How appreciative are you for that?

LJ: I am appreciative of them, definitely. And the press, the office staff, my staff. For anyone who puts in effort to help me, I will try to give back to them as much as I can.

This is a lovely club because it is a community club. As a manager, you really feel you have the weight of the town behind you. They want you to do well.

We all hope we can do something special and that is what we are aiming for.