Neil Warnock Quotes

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Neil Warnock

Profession : Businessman

Birth : December 1, 1948

If you are a manager with a new owner who has more ideas than knowledge, all you can do is get your head down and do your best, which is what Malky Mackay did at Cardiff.

Neil Warnock

In the intervening 48 Christmases I have always either been a player, having to watch what I eat and drink, or a manager, worrying about what my players are eating and drinking, plus who is going to cry off tomorrow, who is suspended, who is carrying an injury, and the million-and-one other questions that fill a manager's every waking moment.

Neil Warnock

Older readers will remember there used to be matches on Christmas Day. I remember leaving the fireside and the presents to watch matches on the day as a boy but such matches were rare by the time I began playing.

Neil Warnock

As a manager I always trusted my players on Christmas Day. I did not see any point in dragging them into the training ground - a three-hour round-trip for some of them on icy roads - when they could relax with their families instead.

Neil Warnock

I've been fortunate most of the seven promotions I've won have been with sides I built from zero, so it is doubly rewarding. There is nothing to match being in the dressing room celebrating promotion after a long season with a group of lads you have put together.

Neil Warnock

You do understand when you get into management that you will get the sack at some stage, but that never puts people off trying again.

Neil Warnock

For a lot of young managers, especially those who have not played at the top end of the game, there is also a financial need to work. Some of them could find employment in another field, but you can't beat making a living out of something you really enjoy doing.

Neil Warnock

You need good staff with their own opinions - Mick Jones has been a great No 2 as he's not a yes-man - but at the end of the day the buck stops with you and the good managers are the ones who make more good decisions than bad.

Neil Warnock

I can't say I ever got to the stage of swapping phone numbers with refs, but I don't have a problem with managers and referees communicating.

Neil Warnock

I have spoken to refs after games, just to ask about something that had occurred during a game. It's always been off the record and I've never had a ref not answer.

Neil Warnock

But referees have to remember there is a reason managers are being nice to them - we're hoping that it just might make the difference when there is a borderline decision.

Neil Warnock

I don't think it is wrong to have a bit of banter with refs. My Dad would always manage games by talking to players and so did I when I reffed.

Neil Warnock

It is a fine line between communicating and being too chummy. My players, when I've been promoted, have been upset by top-flight refs being mates with opposition players.

Neil Warnock

At Plymouth I wrote 'Neil Warnock's Wembley Way', a one-year diary, to show people what being a manager was like. I got lucky as the year ended with us winning promotion through the play-offs at Wembley.

Neil Warnock

As for myself, you never know what is round the corner in football.

Neil Warnock

After more than 30 years in the dugout I have come to realise there is a need at many clubs for someone who can act as a link between managers and owners.

Neil Warnock

However successful someone is in their field of business, and however well-meaning and hard-working, it is difficult to come into football and immediately work out how the industry works, who to trust, what to do. That is the sort of role I think I can fill.

Neil Warnock

Not that I am saying I will never manage again. I want to spend more time with my family and, since we live in Cornwall, that rules out most long-term options.

Neil Warnock