CHRIS COLEMAN’S FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE

Chris Coleman was unveiled as the new AEL coach this morning.

He said:

“The whole reason we are here is to start something new, to start something different & improve what’s happened last season. If I’m being 100% honest, there’s a bit of fear & nerves because when you start something new, you don’t know what will happen. On the other hand it’s exciting because we have the chance to do something different. To build something from the bottom and slowly build it up & that’s exciting.

I know about the history of this club. It has had some very good moments & this is what we need to try to achieve & repeat this. It won’t be easy. Anything that’s worth achieving won’t be easy. It’ll be tough, but it’s doable. It’s something we can do if a) We work really hard, b) We use our intelligence together in collaboration & we create something our fans recognise is a good thing, a positive thing. These are the first steps in what we want to achieve.

I’m 54 in one week. I’ve been around football a long time. I think when you get tired of pretending, you get tired of pretenders. It’s very important the type of personality we bring to the club; if they are real, if they mean what they say & they want to achieve – so this is the biggest thing for us. We need to attract the right people with the right mentality.

I want to thank AEL for giving us the opportunity, me and George, it’s a great opportunity for us. We’re looking forward to working hard & building a team the fans will appreciate. Everybody has a little bit of fear, I don’t care who you are.

Let’s talk about the elite coaches, Klopp, Guardiola; I’m sure they’ve had a little bit of fear. They may not show it but you need this to drive you, because if you don’t have this & you’re too relaxed, you can’t achieve what’s possible. So when I say we have to suffer, it’s the same as when I was with Atromitos, we had to suffer before we got some success. If you can’t do the first part – the suffering, you won’t get the second part – the success.

People fail a lot because they don’t start because they’re too afraid of the feeling of failure. I’ve learned this many times, it’s not a nice feeling. If you don’t keep driving and pushing forward, you’ll never achieve anything again. Yes I have a bit of fear but not enough to stop me from chasing something important. I’m not afraid to lose or get it wrong, because I’ve done it many times. I’ve also got it right & I’ve also won. I’m always chasing this feeling to win & achieve something.

We want to get the supporters to come and support the team, like I said earlier, a team they can relate to, a real team, not a pretend team. The mentality of the players that we attract is very important. Supporters will support a team they connect with. If they see a team; a team is a team, it’s all of us – & if they see a collaboration that everyone is on the same frequency then of course they’ll support the team.

I think, in terms of our formation & structure, we’ll try to attract certain players. If we get the players we want, we’ll play a certain formation. This is the Monday to Friday preparation days. Any success is all about preparation. If you get the preparation right you’ve got a good chance with good players.

George & I are different coaches. There are only so many different coaching sessions you can do unless you try to be too elaborate & too clever. When you do this, you confuse players so we try to keep it simple. We have simple rules. I don’t think I’m anything special but I’m good enough to coach at a good level. The training will be structured. I expect a lot of collaboration from the players. It’s the old motto – you train hard and you play easier. This is what we’re trying to do. George & I are serious and focused in our training but most coaches are the same way. I think you’re either a counter attacking team or front foot, high press. I’d like us to be energetic and attacking. This is what we’ll try to do.”