Walker gave a press conference today but instead of commenting on the recent releases and failings from Coventry he was concentrating on breaking Watford news. "We are in talks with an international player. His agent has said he would relish a move here and we are trying to agree a fee with the club for his services. Left wing is a position we have lots of youth but not much experience. I think he could be the biggest name to sign for Watford if we capture his signature. I have asked after a few other players but they are still in the early stages of talks.
We have the cup tonight and a tough game up in Derby. They have a strong team and they could get promoted back to the championship this season so it will be a difficult game. Our policy has been to try and rest players early in the season. I had a lot of success at Napoli attacking teams from low in the division and the plan for this season is the same. I am very pleased our season has started so well. A win last week against Cardiff was a big confidence boost for some of the players who still were not sure if they could compete out of league 1. I hope managers continue to underestimate us."
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who is that man on the sideline in a long coat? mourinho? ferguson? boothroyd? walker!
Luke Coakley your first win of the season, how pleasing is it to get off the mark?
It was vital we got off the mark and got a win under our belts. It now puts us in a decent league position with some interesting games coming up, now we need to kick on from here. The plan was to start the season off with a bang and it simply didnt happen until today so our season starts now.
How impressed were you with the performance today?
It was the performance I asked the lads to give and the performance the fans deserved after the disappointment of the last two games. We played with plenty of flair and attacked from the word go. We can still improve on this though and was disappointed to see us concede and as manager I always want more goals, there can never be enough as far as Im concerned although I have to admit five is a good return on a days work.
Tamudo scored a hat-trick last week on his first start for the club, could he be the player you were looking for to partner Anelka?
He is tied up in a loan type deal until at least the half season point however its very likely he will be here until the end of the season and Johnson staying at Wolves until the same time. He showed today why I was so pleased to bring him to the club; he gave us an extra dimension in attack.
Your chairman gave you 10million to spend however we are yet to see any further improvements to the squad, is there any news on any new signings?
No big money signs have been made yet and the money is still available for team strengthening. Since the end of last season we have brought in Navaaro and only this week we brought in Aqualini from Sunderland on loan so I would say we are stronger as a squad. Im still looking for the right player to bring in but I wont be rushed and wont waste the chairmans money on someone that is not the right player for us. Im still looking and when we can get the right player for the right price we will move to sign him. The squad has a good future and our first team squad is of a good age and we also have Johnson, Keogh, Ianelli and Joe Hart out on loan so things are looking bright at the club.
Your chairman has asked for a top 6 finish and that win takes you into 6th, can you keep this position?
Well time will tell on that front, my personal target is to finish as high up the league as possible and its vital we improve on last season after the chairmans investment. At the moment league positions means nothing as we have only played three games, we'll look at things at the half way stage and see if we have improved and if not look into why.
If you don't finish in the top 6th the rumors suggest your job may be on the line, does this add unneeded pressure?
No one puts more pressure on me than myself so it adds no more pressure on me at all. I'm looking to finish first in the league and as soon as that isn't possible I will be second and so on and so on...aim for the stars and see what happens. The one thing I wont do is risk the long term future of this club for the short term. I have no doubt this club would make the top six if we sacrificed the young talent of its club for aging stars but in doing so we would ruin the long term future of this club which at the moment is looking very bright indeed. I'm aware the chairman has ambition but also the same values as me and we are in this together, if he wants me to look short term then he knows how to contact me.
And on a final note the Cup draw has been announced and you will be playing Norwich City in the next round. We will be focusing on the league but we feel we can have a decent run in the cup. Norwich have a former Real Madrid manager so we know we will be in for a game. Im disappointed Preston couldnt beat Norwich though as a battle with Mark Gail-Ozzie at Preston who is a friend would have been very interesting. For now thought my focus is on Newcastle United this weekend.
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Cardiff City manager - PM or Email at ccfc999@hotmail.com
Sheffield Wednesday's Hayden Dando talk exclusivly to Sky Sports -
SS - So Ade, things are looking slightly better this week?
HD - Yes, well it could have been a better week and obviously im very dissapointed to have gone out of the F.A cup so early(1-0 to leeds) but we did pick up our first point of the season against Preston in the league which obviously pleases me very much.
SS - Indeed, also you have brought in a very high profile player in De La Pena?
HD - Yes, Ivan De La Pena's move to us has taken some time for one reason or another but i am happy that we have a player of real class joining as well as of course a talented striker in Ian Moore.
SS - Are players still going to leave?
HD - Yes, i am not happy with a number of players in my squad and they will be sold to make room for new additions of that there is no doubt, John Hartson will be arriving in week 7 so not only do i need to have the money for the deal i also want a bit more room in my squad.I am currently operating with 3 goalkeepers all of roughly the same ability for example that is what we don't need.
SS - So any news on this weeks game?
HD - Now you know i won't give out my team ha ha, but seriously all i will say is the same thing i tell the players every game and that is they must respect what Derby County are capable of but they must not fear them at all.We are a club in a transition period but we are definatly going places have no doubt about that, all i need is time and we will be playing the league's bigger clubs and getting wins, mark my words.
SS - The fans are right behind you, do you think the chairman and indeed the players share your vision?
HD - Well i know the fans are being very supportive of me and i do really appreciate that from them.As for the chairman, well he hasn't sacked me yet ha ha.No seriously Mr Ecclestone has been very supportive of me and i have no doubt he will continue to be.As for the players as i said earlier i am well aware of a few players who don't share the vision i have for this club and they will leave in due course, have no worries about that.
SS - Hayden thanks for your time and good luck with the Derby game this week
Welshman Mark Rollings has explained that there will be no room for error this weekend as his new-look Sky Blues side host championship rivals Norwich City at the Ricoh Arena in what is already being billed as a relegation dog fight. Norwich are stumbling towards the bottom of The Championship and while Coventry, newly promoted, have fared slightly better, the contest pits together two of the favourites for the drop to league one this season. A poor showing at West Brom last weekend has put pressure on the Sky Blues to return to winning ways this weekend in front of their own fans and manager Mark Rollings was full of confidence his side would produce the goods.
I think West Brom was merely a blip. If you look back over the last 15 matches we have only lost twice and that shows that we are a consistent side. I have no doubt that my players will bounce back against Norwich and show that we are a competitive championship side. We tried something different against West Brom, because we knew the talent that they had. On this occasion it didnt work but there is no reason to worry too much about that. Not many teams will take points at West Brom this season.
Rollings has always shown unrivalled confidence in his sides ability and will hope his intense belief will once again inspire his players into a response. The enigmatic Coventry boss also rounded on recent criticisms fired at his purchase of controversial playmaker Joey Barton, and recent gossip suggesting his board were less than happy with him at the moment.
Joey Barton is a top quality central midfielder who has now provided us with a different way of playing. His arrival means I can finally implement a tactical system which I identified would be successful in the Championship when we got promoted. In that sense he is the single, biggest signing I have made as Coventry boss.
As far as the press rumblings about my relationship with the board are concerned, the stories I have been reading are laughable. I have a superb relationship with everyone running Coventry City football club. I have been tremendously successful with this club and my aim is to continue to take them forward. I have read comments from Milan Mandaric stating that he is interested in taking me to Leicester but I can assure everyone at Coventry that I am going nowhere. I love this club, the fans, and the chairmen and we will work together to bring the deserved success to this great club.
Following a quiet spell in the media circus recently Cardiff manager JD Jaques has been spotted hurrying out of Cardiff airport having been on a trip abroad judging from his suntan. Skysports News is reporting that he has been to Spain and may have been there to broker one of the largest deals he has overseen at the Welsh club.
Recent results have not gone the way of Cardiff in the league but it is understood that he was pleased with the win in the Cup on Monday.
A press conference is planned for next week fuelling speculation of an imminent signing and possible ticket price news.
