Danny Lennon Interview
After being announced as the new manager of Clyde today, Danny Lennon took the time to speak to the official website for a first interview.
Danny started by talking about the appointment and what attracted him to the club:-
“I was absolutely delighted to get the positive call from the chairman today and I’m honoured to be part of Clyde Football Club and its future ahead.
“Clyde is a club that has proud traditions. As a player, I always thoroughly enjoyed the hard battles you’d get against Clyde. Broadwood was also a lovely place to play and it’s been developed further since then. The facilities and environment that the club has, at this level, should be a breath of fresh air for any player. That infrastructure was a big attraction.
“The board has also worked tirelessly to get the club debt free and back into a sound position, which is very important.
“I was really impressed by the chairman – he spoke so highly of the club and he has a fantastic vision for it. I like what the board have done and want to do over the next few years. I’m more than happy to play my part in that.
“Now I’ve got to create an environment to maximise the potential of every player or person who comes under my care.”
After a break away from the game, the decision to continue his management career in League 2 wasn’t something that fazed Danny.
“I had a great conversation with the chairman and directors yesterday,” he continued. “Some people might question my ambition in coming to the bottom tier having previously spent time in the top flight, but the reality is that the competition is fierce. There are a lot of quality managers and coaches looking for jobs and I’m absolutely delighted to be given the opportunity at Clyde. I also think it speaks about the character I have that I’m not afraid to take a step back to come back up the way again.
“It’s the right fit for both of us. Clyde and myself are both hungry for success and both of us want to be higher up the leagues. To achieve that, we both need to put in a great deal of work. I accept that challenge and I’m going to put absolutely everything into it.”
Looking ahead, Danny was optimistic about the rest of the 2017-18 campaign and beyond:-
“For me, Clyde has been in the bottom tier for far too long. The club has the potential to do better. It’s been a disappointing start to the season but it’s time to draw a line and move on. I’ve got to give credit to Tony and Ian for steadying the ship and getting two very valuable points over the last couple of weeks.
“What I can do now is influence the performances and results over the next 24 league games. That’s 72 points to play for. Yes, we are five points off the bottom but we’re only 12 points away from the play-offs as well.
“This a fresh start for all players at the club and it’s a second chance for them to reach the standards that they are capable of. I love football and I place a great emphasis on making sure every player under my care enjoys their football as much as possible. I want them to come into training with a smile on their face and leave with a smile on their face.
“If we create the right environment, the players will improve individually and the team will improve collectively. That will involve hard work but from that, the results will come and that’s what everyone involved in this fantastic sport loves to do; win. We will train and play with a purpose and a deep desire to win matches.”
Danny also gave a positive assessment of the Stirling Albion match on Saturday, which he decided to attend in preparation for his interview:-
“There were things that I would tweak, but over the 90 minutes there were definitely things I was pleased with. I loved the response of the players after going behind, which they didn’t deserve to be at that stage. Again, credit to Tony and Ian for that because they definitely galvanised things.”
Following today’s announcement, Danny now has a busy week ahead of his first match in charge on Saturday, against East Fife at Broadwood in the William Hill Scottish Cup:-
“I think the timing was key. The board took their time to make a selection but they were very methodical in making sure that the new manager would have the opportunity to be there on Tuesday night. I’ll be there tomorrow to meet people and oversee training, led by Tony and Ian. That will let me see the players close up for the first time.
“We’ll then take it onto Thursday night and I’m already preparing for that. We’ll look at what East Fife will provide and what our own strengths and weaknesses are. I’ll be getting the training kit back on and doing something that I’m very passionate about, which is coaching on the training pitch and coming up with a gameplan for the weekend.
“So, I’ve got the opportunity to be involved for a couple of days before my first match which is great.”
To conclude, Danny admitted that his debut match was an interesting fixture to begin with:-
“I think it’s a good one. I love the competition and the tie has come up at a time that will give the players a bit of a break from the ‘bread and butter’ of trying to pick up league points. We know that East Fife are playing at a higher level and doing well, so it’ll be very difficult, but we’ll go in with belief and a one off game sometimes brings out the best in players.”