Floor - Is there pressure to achieve operation premiership?
ID - no more than is normal in the modern game but yes the pressure is huge, and that he has enjoyed the time here so far and hopes to be here for some time to come. As to whether the Operation Premiership target is achievable? - "Yes" was the answer, and that if so then it'll be amongst Id's best achievements.
Floor - what is ID's assessment of the players here?
ID - it's unfair to comment on individual players but should have a good idea of everyone within the month, and it is likely that the loan system will be used to bring in quality that would improve the team and for those players to be assessed also.
To a Floor question regarding scouting, ID said that the use of internet technology enabled quick reports to be received from other matches on quality prospects which could then be followed up quickly as required as is necessary in this age.
The structure to enable this will be sorted out soon and that ID would be likely to be looking at using a chief scout in the North, one in the South and maybe one covering Europe too given the cost of quality players here in the UK.
ID did say that there are already 2 or 3 players out there that he has in mind not necessarily for the immediate future.
Next a question from the floor that made PF drop a bead of sweat! Had ID met any possible new investors in the club?
To good natured laughter ID said that he truthfully hadn't met any as yet but that he understood that there was the possibility of investment, but that he hadn't come to
Floor - What is the state of the Academy?
Id - stated that the Academy will never close whilst he's at the club and he'd rather walk out if that were to be the case. There is lots of assessment to be done yet but already there are disappointments with some levels of development so far. Having seen the reserves beat
I didn't catch the question from the floor which I think asked what about the roles of Oggy and Bugsy, to which ID replied that he had yet to assess and decide on roles top to bottom, and that he demands top quality standards.
Floor - Preparation for away games?
Id - believes in the whole team staying over the night before as a unit, and that mental toughness grinds out results away from home, and that by pushing people hard in training and taking them beyond where they want to go, helps to bring out this mental toughness.
He also said that he does lots of pre-match planning on the opposition and won applause from the floor when saying that games are won or lost inside the first 20 minutes!
To a question regarding investment in new players that ID targets PF said that if Iain did want a player then the board would do what they have to make it happen.
The final question from the floor asked Iain how he would keep
ID - There must be a good back-up system and conveyor belt of talent in the club in place, and that character is the key to staying there as sometimes it costs more to actually get there in the first place! He said that he'd learned lots from his experiences to date and that Pace, Power and Technique needs building into a team in order to stay in the Premiership.
In wrapping up the proceedings PF told the floor that they had first spoken to Iain 10 days before, and asked if the board had made the wrong decision - the response to which was a resounding No.
And that closed the forum at approximately 8.55pm, with many smiling faces at what they had heard and comments overheard on the way out such as Iain being more passionate than previous managers, that no question asked was dodged and were truthfully answered, and that he came across as a nice guy who is focused along with Tim on what they want to achieve.