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Adams sticks with Wycombe
By Steve Stammers, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 15.01.04
Tough task: Tony Adams at Wycombe
Tony Adams insisted today that he is not about to walk out on his first managerial job at Wycombe.
There were reports that the former Arsenal and England captain was so disillusioned with life at the Second Division club that he was ready to quit.
But he said: "That is total nonsense, absolute rubbish. I have never walked away from anything in my life and I am not going to start now. I was in for training as usual this morning and I have been to three reserve games this week looking for players.
"Does that sound like someone who is unhappy doing his job? I have just started. I am not about to finish a few months into this. I have a good chairman in Ivor Beekes and he is a man I trust. We have a great relationship.
"I think this story has come out because I am fair game. There has been such negativity about this club and this is just another symptom of that. I am high profile because of what I achieved as a player and that makes me an easy target. But I repeat - I am not leaving and I have no intention of leaving."
Defeat at Stockport County last weekend left Wycombe eight points adrift of safety but the 37-year-old, whose side are at home to Blackpool on Saturday, said: "This is my first job and I am learning all about it. I am learning every day. I have taken advice from George Graham and Arsene Wenger and I speak to them a lot. They have given me advice. Most of it is very simple but they started where I started - at the bottom. They know the experiences that I am having and that I will have in the months to come.
"I feel we are making progress. For instance we have won three games since I came here. Yes, we have lost five but before I came we had won only two. Maybe sometimes I have been too open and honest when I answer a question and people have put spin on what I have said. But I am not the sort of person who will evade a question and I will not change.
"This is going to take time but I knew that when I took the job. This club is like a baby, it is like it is 10 years old. And my job is to help it to grow up. I keep in my mind what Arsene Wenger said to me when I went into management. He said: 'You will be strong, you will be better than the teams you play and you will be consistently better than the teams you play, better in every department.' That is so simple but it is also so true.
"Look at people like Arsene and George Graham. They didn't start at one of the top clubs. They learned about management the way I am learning about management - at a smaller club in the real world. That is the kind of lead I am following. And I am staying at Wycombe."
