Coventry City caretaker manager Andy Thorn has admitted he hasn't considered becoming their latest manager, but he is enjoying the job that was unexpectedly thrust upon him when Aidy Boothroyd was sacked on Monday.
His attacking philosophy will surely endure him to the fans who have been starved of exciting football for several seasons now and if he continues to select teams that play like they did at Burnley on Tuesday evening, he will only enhance his chances of getting the job permanently.
One fly in the ointment though is that Thorn doesn't have any coaching badges and he admits he doesn't even know the rules about managing football clubs, but he isn't letting that issue from getting on with the job in hand.
Thorn took his first press conference as Coventry City manager yesterday and he told the assembled reporters, “I know what I want and the boys are on board and I normally get what I want."
“We will be bold and brave in what we do, and there will be no shrinking violets I can assure you. We’ll be going out there and playing football. We have got some good players and I would sooner win 5-3 and excite. It is something Steve Harrison and I talked about and we want to do it and the boys are with us."
"There is certainly no pressure on any of the players because we have taken that away and given them a freedom to play and if you have got the ball then the opposition can’t score.”
Thorn was asked about his rapid rise in responsibility, “It’s good. It’s been hectic but we have got on top of things and we are enjoying it," he revealed.
“It came out of the blue overnight and the boys have responded. There is no point in changing things gradually and we thought we might as well do it straight away, and that’s what we did at Burnley."
“Even though I was a defender I am not really defence minded when it comes to that and we’ll go for it because there is no point finishing second is there? It was a great start the other night and we have got to take that forward now.”
When questioned about whether he saw himself as a football manager and a long term replacement for Boothroyd, he replied, “I have honestly never thought about it."
"I have been in the game for a long time and worked under some really good people and taken bits and pieces from everyone as we have been preparing for transfer windows and things."
“This has come along and we just get on with it. We have got to take the club forward and hopefully we can do that. If someone else comes in at the end of the season, brilliant, everything is there and if it happens that we do well then fine, but I honestly have not even thought about going down that route."
“We have been asked to do a job now and that’s what we will do. If it goes on great and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
Thorn, who is 44 years old and in his playing day he played at Newcastle United alongside his current chairman Ray Ranson, then went on to explain that he lacked any UEFA coaching badges, but questioned the need for any qualifications if you do a good enough job.
He said, “If you win football matches and play really well and everyone is excited and it puts bums on seats and enjoys it, do you need a badge? "I don’t know what the rules are."
“Everything has happened so quickly. Steve Harrison has got a wealth of football experience, as has the chairman and there is plenty of stuff there to tap into between us."
"The chairman has been around the boys and had a chat with them and it has been great. It is something different they have not had. He doesn’t interfere in any way but he and Steve are people I can turn to if I need to.”
Thorn is popular among the players and has an easy going relationship with them and the non playing staff and this has helped to create a more relaxed atmosphere which, in turn, has eased the pressure off the players
His more relaxed approach was evident when asked about it he said, “Yeah possibly, but that’s the way I am, but when we go on the pitch our work starts there and we are certainly serious when we do that and when they come off I don’t mind what the boys do to be honest. They are good lads but that’s our place of work out there.”
Thorn has taken the added responsibility in his stride joking “Well I am used to that because my missus puts all the onus on me, so I find it quite easy really and I enjoy being here because the work’s not as hard.”