J
John McGovern
Guest
How do you feel to be the new manager of this famous football club?
As you can imagine, I am very proud and feel very blessed to be appointed today. It's obviously a club with an incredible tradition and history and I'm very, very proud and honoured to be appointed manager.
How excited are you by the owners' plans and visions for the future?
I suppose I first of all want to mention Kenny Dalglish, who is an incredible man. He's obviously the best player in the history of this football club and he's someone who adored Liverpool. He has nursed the club through some horrific times and also brought a lot of joy to the supporters here both as a player and a manager. He is someone I want to pay a great respect to because he's a wonderful ambassador for this football club. But I'm a different tactician, a different man. The owners are very excited and looking forward, and obviously they wanted to bring someone in who could keep with the traditions of Liverpool Football Club, which is to play offensive and attacking football, and also someone to represent the values of the club off the field, and that's something I will defend for my life.
How difficult was it to leave Swansea?
It was very difficult. I always said I'd leave Swansea City one day but I felt it was only going to be for a top club. I had a fantastic relationship with the chairman and the supporters and also we created history - we were the first Welsh club into the Barclays Premier League. But the attraction of coming to Liverpool is phenomenal. You only need to look at the fact they're five times European Cup winners. Some of the great players who've played for this club. I genuinely think Liverpool Football Club is the heartland of football folklore. If you look back through the years, at the players and managers. You go back to Toshack and Keegan, Rush and Dalglish, Hansen and Lawrenson, Shankly and Paisley. Then you have the modern day in terms of Gerrard and Carragher. It's a club that's so full of history and tradition and passion.
How would you describe your own football philosophy?
The philosophy is very much based on the attacking side of the game. People ask me that question and I always say it's about being offensive and creative, but also with tactical discipline. If you look at the Swansea team in the last couple of years they've been lauded for their offensive approach but defensively we've kept many clean sheets and we're up there with the top defensive records. That's the principles of this club. This is a club that's based on fast, attacking, offensive football. But I'll repeat - it's very important to have tactical discipline within that. Your philosophy and your principles will always be governed by the players. There is a fantastic squad here, some terrific players, but there is no doubt I'll need to make maybe two, three or four additions to try and get that flow - and it will take time to put that in place.
Who are the influences on your managerial career?
I have been a student of the game. I've been coaching and managing for 20 years and travelled a lot as a coach. I've been very clear in my philosophy and had a clear vision in that since I was very young. My grandfather was a big supporter of Liverpool, along with my father, so I watched the late 70s and early 80s football. Obviously the Cruyff philosophy was very prominent because my dad was a big lover of Cruyff. As you move into the coaching, my philosophy has been a fusion between the British and the European. The single biggest influence would be Jose Mourinho, purely because he gave me the opportunity. I learned many things from Jose. He is a great man and the biggest thing he did for me is give me an opportunity and show belief in me, and give me that chance to work with top players.
The style you had at Swansea - would you hope to deploy a similar one here at Liverpool or does that depend on the players?
The principles of your game depend on the players but certainly that's a vision that I would hopefully over the next few years (implement). It certainly won't happen in game one because there are different types of players here. But over time, that's the ideology - to play that way. One, it's my belief, and two, it's the belief of the supporters. They enjoy watching it, and that's one of the biggest attractions coming here. Liverpool supporters are very educated in the game. We were here with Swansea earlier in the season and their style of football got a round of applause at the end of the game. That doesn't happen very often at away grounds.
Do you need time to build that philosophy here?
You do. There is no doubt about that. I'm very much a realist. It's certainly going to be a few years in relation to where the team is at now. It will need some investment and it will need time for me to work. But of course we're in the business of winning and winning games is important. But it's a philosophy and a style that's very much in the DNA of me and the club and hopefully we can roll that out over the years to come.
What does Liverpool Football Club mean to you personally?
For me it means an awful lot. There is a real emotional attachment. I've had a number of opportunities to leave Swansea and I wasn't going to leave Swansea for any club, because of my life both professional and personal. But the attraction of the history here, and also the attraction of the frustrations - to feel the club are still striving for that league title. Hopefully over the coming years that's something we can look to challenge for. Certainly not immediately, there are still a lot of improvements to be made. This is an iconic football club. It's a club that's up there with the world's great. When you talk Liverpool Football Club you're talking Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, AC Milan. It's an enormous club. The challenge and the motivation is for me to do the best I possibly can and I will always fight for my life for Liverpool, and that will be on and off the field.
How excited are you about some of the players you will be working with here?
I'm really looking forward to it. I spoke to Steven Gerrard last night. That was fantastic, I had a nice chat with him. I have always worked well with people. To me, it's doesn't matter whether they're big stars or not, the club's success is the most important and every player I work with will have to be a part of the team. There are some wonderful talents. If you look at the likes of Steven; Jamie Carragher has been a wonderful player for this football club; you've got Pepe Reina, who's a top, world-class goalkeeper, and many other talents within the group. I always have a close relationship with players. I speak very openly and honestly with them so they know where they stand. I like to educate players. You train dogs, I like to educate players both on and off the field.
Early days, of course, but have you identified transfer targets?
Again, it's important to assess the group, but having watched Liverpool I've certainly got an idea what could improve., that's for sure.
And have you spoken to the owners about a transfer budget?
Yes. There is money to spend. We haven't got the wheelbarrow overflowing. It's not falling out over the edges but there is money to spend. There are some terrific players here and big talents and I want to help improve them as players and as people. There will be some additions to improve and improve our way of playing as well.
Supporters here are desperate to get back in the Champions League - is that your own aim?
It's an aim for every manager at a top club. That's the holy grail, but also, in time, we want to be challenging for the title. For me, and it's not going to be straight away because that's not realistic, winning the title is something we want to achieve. It's not just aiming for fourth place. The Champions League is fantastic and that's where this club wants to be. It's going to be a process and ultimately, hopefully, that will take us up towards the top of the league and challenging. That's where this club belongs.
Finally, what would your message to Liverpool supporters be?
I'd just like to say, I'm honoured and blessed to be your manager. All I can promise is I'll fight for my life for the club. My family will move to the area and we're really excited about moving to the city of Liverpool, getting to know the football club and the people of Liverpool. I will leave no stone unturned in my quest - and that quest will be relentless - to try and get Liverpool back on the map again as a successful football club.
As you can imagine, I am very proud and feel very blessed to be appointed today. It's obviously a club with an incredible tradition and history and I'm very, very proud and honoured to be appointed manager.
How excited are you by the owners' plans and visions for the future?
I suppose I first of all want to mention Kenny Dalglish, who is an incredible man. He's obviously the best player in the history of this football club and he's someone who adored Liverpool. He has nursed the club through some horrific times and also brought a lot of joy to the supporters here both as a player and a manager. He is someone I want to pay a great respect to because he's a wonderful ambassador for this football club. But I'm a different tactician, a different man. The owners are very excited and looking forward, and obviously they wanted to bring someone in who could keep with the traditions of Liverpool Football Club, which is to play offensive and attacking football, and also someone to represent the values of the club off the field, and that's something I will defend for my life.
How difficult was it to leave Swansea?
It was very difficult. I always said I'd leave Swansea City one day but I felt it was only going to be for a top club. I had a fantastic relationship with the chairman and the supporters and also we created history - we were the first Welsh club into the Barclays Premier League. But the attraction of coming to Liverpool is phenomenal. You only need to look at the fact they're five times European Cup winners. Some of the great players who've played for this club. I genuinely think Liverpool Football Club is the heartland of football folklore. If you look back through the years, at the players and managers. You go back to Toshack and Keegan, Rush and Dalglish, Hansen and Lawrenson, Shankly and Paisley. Then you have the modern day in terms of Gerrard and Carragher. It's a club that's so full of history and tradition and passion.
How would you describe your own football philosophy?
The philosophy is very much based on the attacking side of the game. People ask me that question and I always say it's about being offensive and creative, but also with tactical discipline. If you look at the Swansea team in the last couple of years they've been lauded for their offensive approach but defensively we've kept many clean sheets and we're up there with the top defensive records. That's the principles of this club. This is a club that's based on fast, attacking, offensive football. But I'll repeat - it's very important to have tactical discipline within that. Your philosophy and your principles will always be governed by the players. There is a fantastic squad here, some terrific players, but there is no doubt I'll need to make maybe two, three or four additions to try and get that flow - and it will take time to put that in place.
Who are the influences on your managerial career?
I have been a student of the game. I've been coaching and managing for 20 years and travelled a lot as a coach. I've been very clear in my philosophy and had a clear vision in that since I was very young. My grandfather was a big supporter of Liverpool, along with my father, so I watched the late 70s and early 80s football. Obviously the Cruyff philosophy was very prominent because my dad was a big lover of Cruyff. As you move into the coaching, my philosophy has been a fusion between the British and the European. The single biggest influence would be Jose Mourinho, purely because he gave me the opportunity. I learned many things from Jose. He is a great man and the biggest thing he did for me is give me an opportunity and show belief in me, and give me that chance to work with top players.
The style you had at Swansea - would you hope to deploy a similar one here at Liverpool or does that depend on the players?
The principles of your game depend on the players but certainly that's a vision that I would hopefully over the next few years (implement). It certainly won't happen in game one because there are different types of players here. But over time, that's the ideology - to play that way. One, it's my belief, and two, it's the belief of the supporters. They enjoy watching it, and that's one of the biggest attractions coming here. Liverpool supporters are very educated in the game. We were here with Swansea earlier in the season and their style of football got a round of applause at the end of the game. That doesn't happen very often at away grounds.
Do you need time to build that philosophy here?
You do. There is no doubt about that. I'm very much a realist. It's certainly going to be a few years in relation to where the team is at now. It will need some investment and it will need time for me to work. But of course we're in the business of winning and winning games is important. But it's a philosophy and a style that's very much in the DNA of me and the club and hopefully we can roll that out over the years to come.
What does Liverpool Football Club mean to you personally?
For me it means an awful lot. There is a real emotional attachment. I've had a number of opportunities to leave Swansea and I wasn't going to leave Swansea for any club, because of my life both professional and personal. But the attraction of the history here, and also the attraction of the frustrations - to feel the club are still striving for that league title. Hopefully over the coming years that's something we can look to challenge for. Certainly not immediately, there are still a lot of improvements to be made. This is an iconic football club. It's a club that's up there with the world's great. When you talk Liverpool Football Club you're talking Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, AC Milan. It's an enormous club. The challenge and the motivation is for me to do the best I possibly can and I will always fight for my life for Liverpool, and that will be on and off the field.
How excited are you about some of the players you will be working with here?
I'm really looking forward to it. I spoke to Steven Gerrard last night. That was fantastic, I had a nice chat with him. I have always worked well with people. To me, it's doesn't matter whether they're big stars or not, the club's success is the most important and every player I work with will have to be a part of the team. There are some wonderful talents. If you look at the likes of Steven; Jamie Carragher has been a wonderful player for this football club; you've got Pepe Reina, who's a top, world-class goalkeeper, and many other talents within the group. I always have a close relationship with players. I speak very openly and honestly with them so they know where they stand. I like to educate players. You train dogs, I like to educate players both on and off the field.
Early days, of course, but have you identified transfer targets?
Again, it's important to assess the group, but having watched Liverpool I've certainly got an idea what could improve., that's for sure.
And have you spoken to the owners about a transfer budget?
Yes. There is money to spend. We haven't got the wheelbarrow overflowing. It's not falling out over the edges but there is money to spend. There are some terrific players here and big talents and I want to help improve them as players and as people. There will be some additions to improve and improve our way of playing as well.
Supporters here are desperate to get back in the Champions League - is that your own aim?
It's an aim for every manager at a top club. That's the holy grail, but also, in time, we want to be challenging for the title. For me, and it's not going to be straight away because that's not realistic, winning the title is something we want to achieve. It's not just aiming for fourth place. The Champions League is fantastic and that's where this club wants to be. It's going to be a process and ultimately, hopefully, that will take us up towards the top of the league and challenging. That's where this club belongs.
Finally, what would your message to Liverpool supporters be?
I'd just like to say, I'm honoured and blessed to be your manager. All I can promise is I'll fight for my life for the club. My family will move to the area and we're really excited about moving to the city of Liverpool, getting to know the football club and the people of Liverpool. I will leave no stone unturned in my quest - and that quest will be relentless - to try and get Liverpool back on the map again as a successful football club.
