8:02am Thursday 11th October 2007
By Gordon Sharrock
PROBLEMS mounted for Wanderers boss Sammy Lee today with the announcement that Gary Speed had stood down as first team coach.
The move was meant to help the Whites focus on pulling clear of the relegation zone, with both player and manager maintaining that it was in the best interests of the team.
But it served only to create confusion when it emerged that the pair were at odds over who instigated the move. Lee said he had relieved the veteran midfielder of the coaching role he gave him when he became manager in April, but Speed insisted he had resigned.
"It was my decision," he said. "I decided it wasn't working out. I want to concentrate totally on my football."
But he stressed last night that relinquishing his backroom duties had nothing to do with him being axed from Sunday's Premiership clash with Chelsea.
In fact, the 38-year-old former Wales international reckons Wanderers' improved performance in the 1-0 defeat suggested the manager got his team selection right.
Lee said at the weekend that his decision not to select Speed, who was dropped along with club captain Kevin Nolan, would not affect his position as first team player-coach. But that situation changed after the pair met on Tuesday at the Euxton training ground in the company of general manager Frank McParland. The matter came to a head yesterday morning.
"I relieved him of his coaching duties because I want him to focus on his game," Lee maintained. "I don't want anything to distract him from his game, if anything is distracting him.
"At this present time it's important that all of us focus on what we are trying to do."
The contrasting versions suggest the relationship between the manager and his most experienced player have been severely strained. But Lee denied there was serious unrest behind the scenes and was dismissive of recent newspaper reports claiming a significant number of his senior players were unhappy with his methods.
"Who are these people?" he asked. "It's time for these senior sources' to stand up and be counted.
"I know it's not everybody, all I'd like is for those one or two to just come and knock on my door. There might be one or two, but I'd prefer them to come and knock on my door.
"The supporters here have been terrific, absolutely fantastic in very trying circumstances. But it must be disconcerting for them to keep reading these things.
"I'm trying to do things in a professional way in the privacy of my office."
Lee spoke of his admiration for the England rugby union team, whose unity shone through in the face of widespread criticism when they pulled off their remarkable World Cup quarter-final victory over Australia at the weekend.
"Andrew Sheridan (England's man of the match) said that they never doubted themselves inside the dressing room. He said 30 people including the staff were together - and that's all I ever want," he said.
"I don't expect players to be happy when they are not playing, but all I ever ask is that they keep it in-house.
"I hear things about my methods. I've been with these lads over two years. I've been at the English FA and with Liverpool.
"All I'm trying to do is make sure we can compete on all fronts. But they should keep whatever unhappiness they have in-house.
"It's bitterly disappointing that these things are leaking out. People are trying to undermine what we are trying to do."
Speed said Lee had good reason to suspect that information was being leaked by an "insider" but denied vehemently that he was responsible.
"I've never done my business that way," he said. "It sounds like it's coming from within the club and I agree with the manager, it doesn't do anybody any good.
"But it categorically isn't me."
Despite their differences, Speed - one of football's most respected elder statesman with a record number Premier League appearances - has assured Lee that he will play his heart out for Wanderers.
"I have no problem with being left out of the team," he said. "He's the manager, he makes the decisions and if he feels that's what's best for the team, that's fine by me.
"It's up to me to work hard and get back in the team and give 100 per cent, as I always do.
"It was disappointing to be left out, but the lads did great on Sunday and, to a certain extent, his decision was shown to be a good one - apart from the result."
Speed fears, however, that his hopes of negotiating a one-year extension to his current contract, which expires at the end of the season, have been jeopardised by his decision.
"I was offered an extra year on my contract, which took the coaching role into account," he said. "It had all been agreed but not signed. That might not be there now."
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/trade_directory/