A mere 3 hours after announcing that Martin O’Neill would be leaving the club, Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner has called another press conference to confirm the new manager of the club.
With an expectant press waiting in the room; Mr. Lerner walked out and stated, “I’m sure you will all be surprised by whom I have chosen to lead the club for the foreseeable future, but I assure you the new man in charge knows what he’s doing and following talks with him, I am convinced he can lead this club to a bigger and better future.”
At this, all the press present immediately turned their thoughts to Steve McLaren, the formerly disgraced England manager famous for his ‘standing under the brolly’ picture at the failure to qualify for Euro 2008 following a dismal campaign.
However, the press were even more surprised when an unrecognised man walked into the room. He shook hands with Mr. Lerner, and was introduced to the press, “Ladies and gentlemen, I present you Andrew Reilly, the new manager of Aston Villa,”
This was greeted by gentle, if nervy, applause as Reilly took his seat.
A journalist from SkySports asked him, “Mr. Reilly; the call to hire you was obviously unexpected and no one could have predicted it. Can you tell us your plans for this club and how you intend to take them to the next level of competition – the Champion’s League?”
“Of course. I intend to use my transfer budget wisely to pick out a few players who I know can lead this club to a successful season. In my view, we have the potential to be looking at Champion’s League football, and that is where I intend to be within a few seasons. Naturally, there will be a period of gelling which we will have to get through, but I hope that the players understand I am not here as a joke. I am here to lead this club onto bigger and better things, as Mr. Lerner has said. I intend to improve the staff here, as my initial evaluation is that we need some better coaches in to take full advantage of the training facilities we have here to maximise the potential of our players. Once that has been taken care of, I will look to offload some of the higher-earners at the club who I do not feel will contribute to the tactical approach I intend to employ, and then use this extra revenue to build a stronger squad capable of challenging the top four.”
A journalist from FourFourTwo then asked, “What can we expect in the transfer market?”
“I honestly believe that this club is almost complete. We have a decent, young side which, if bolstered with some decent experience, I feel can definitely challenge the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool for 4th spot in the League. I will probably be looking to use a 4-3-2-1 tactic which will maximise the midfield potential we have at the club, and look to Agbonlahor to lead the front line. In order to get the full use out of this tactic, I am likely to be in the market for an attacking midfielder or two, a striker and perhaps, if money allows, a better central defender.”
The journalist then asked, “Can you give us an idea of who you will be looking at?”
“I have always been an admirer of Juan Roman Riquelme, and will probably look to add him to the squad, but as for the striker and other attacking midfielder, I do not know at this moment in time."
Last edited:
