GB believes we are in safe hands
THE MANAGER
I must admit that when Terry Butcher was appointed assistant manager when Eric Black was appointed manager I was a little disappointed.Sadly with hindsight this was little to do with the person, but the two "institutions" that he had become an icon for, Rangers and the England International Team, neither of which I have any time for!In fact these are two of the last teams I would want to represent (along with Celtic to make it three!).
But as the year has slipped by I have begun to put these stupid emotions to the back of my mind and have begun to see the man for what he is.Firstly I would like to commend him for not cutting and running like his pal did when we were put into administration.It could have been just as easy for Terry as it was for Black(maybe not as it may only have been the former manager who knew he had a job to go to!).But he has stayed and stuck it out, and now been rewarded for his loyalty with an improved contract.I am fortunate that I see a small part of how Terry goes about his business as I am lucky enough to attend after match press conferences.He really wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to talking about our football team and club. He genuinely seems to have a passion for the future at Motherwell and the young talent he is working with.I have seen him on a high when we beat Celtic, not an easy emotion to hide I know, as I was beaming all through the same press conference.But after the defeat at East End Park just after this it was easy to see his frustration at how we were that day!
He also has a real easy manner with the press(and I would guess with people in general)and is prepared to talk at length about what has gone on and what is going on.He is certainly more media friendly than his two predecessors that I also saw in action.His views are always candid and always a fair reflection of what has gone on, there is little bullshit in comparison to other SPL managers.He also seems to have a great philosophy to management and one I share in my own job.He regularly goes on about how football is about belief, and how Chris McCart and himselfhave to help the players belief that they can compete in the SPL and also in certain games.Belief was one of his major topics after the Celtic game, where he talked about how the players believed they could.His frustration at Dunfermline was borne out of his belief that we could have done something that day, but he felt that the players didn't share that belief.
I also liked the way that after the Hearts game he admitted to going through the defence for their performance, and then apologising as he realised that they had been giving 100% for him at the time!This is something I have done in my day job, and I think people understand that managers will go off the deep end but don't feel so bad if it is also recognised the effort that they have been putting in!
I now believe that we are in safe hands for the future with our Rangers and England icon, and maybe one day he will be up there as a Motherwell icon and legend, as the manager who led us out of the financial mire onto a stable playing platform.
Graham Barnstaple
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