In an exclusive interview with BoyleSports , legendary former Premier League and Football League manager Tony Pulis has insisted that anything is possible for Wrexham as they chase promotion to the top flight.
Pulis has also backed Ipswich to have a strong return to the Championship season and hailed potential new Rangers boss Davide Ancelotti while also discussing a range of othe topics inluding James McClean’s potential boxing bout against Jake Paul.
Grant’s Huddersfield Chance
It's a fantastic opportunity for Lee Grant. A big club and I'm sure they'll back him. They're desperate to get out of that league. I think they were probably disappointed they didn’t go up last year.
I was surprised they changed the manager, at the point that they did, but they've done it, and they've appointed a fresh manager to have a crack at the issue. Good luck to him, it’ll be very different than anything he's ever experienced before, and it will be about the strength of character and the knowledge and the determination to pull him through.
Holloway Reinvigorating Swindon
Ollie's gone in there and breathed new life into the place. That's what Ian's all about, his mentality, his enthusiasm, his commitment to wanting everybody to do the best they possibly can and to squeeze the pips out of players every training session and every game.
That is there for everybody to see. He's not far from home. He loves that area and it'd be absolutely fantastic to see Swindon get promoted. You could get a big catchment there, you could get a lot of people supporting him and they've got someone there with the enthusiasm, the drive, the commitment and the experience to hopefully produce that promotion.
Will Still
Is Will Still a great get? We will see. The one thing for sure is that Southampton will be one of the best teams in the Championship next year if they keep the players they've got.
He will have the opportunity and the chance to definitely be successful in his first year and success there is promotion, nothing less than promotion. That will put pressure on him and the league will be tough next year, but he’s got all he needs to succeed.
Leicester’s Manager Search
Leicester have got to make sure that whatever they do, they do what's right for the football club. I know Jon Rudkin has taken some stick at the moment, but they've had owners that have always put a hell of a lot of money into that football club.
It's disappointing to see what has happened over the last few years there. When you think of only a few years ago, they were winning the Premier League title and winning at Wembley. There has been a big step backwards. But again, if they get off to a good start next year, then they will be one of the stronger teams.
Was Sacking Selles Correct?
The chairman at Hull City is very hands-on and he has got to stand and fall by the decisions he makes. We saw that with Liam Rosenior and now with Ruben Selles. Time will tell how it works out.”
Gerrard’s EFL Move
I'm not aware of what Steven Gerrard wants to do or what he doesn't want to do. One of the great players in his era of Premier League football. He did a great job at Rangers, then obviously slipped off a little bit and then went to Saudi and you're soon forgotten. That's the thing, especially in England.
It will be interesting to see where Steven ends up and where he goes, whether he goes back to Rangers or whether he picks a Championship club if he's given the opportunity.
I can't see him dropping further down than the Championship. So if he's going to get a job, I'd suggest he wants to get a job where there's plenty of air left in the bag for him to have a right go and be successful again.
Nathan Jones Returning To Cardiff?
Nathan has done an unbelievable job at Charlton. He's had a couple of bad experiences, bounced back and done fantastic at Charlton. He's a local boy, he's a Valley boy, so Cardiff would have been his team when he was younger. That association to South Wales would run, being from South Wales myself, would run very, very strong with him. However, I'd be surprised if he left Charlton, especially after being there and being given the opportunity by the owners to get his career back on track, he will probably feel that he owes them a little bit.
So I'd be surprised if Nathan went back there. But whoever they appoint, again, they have to appoint someone who they believe will get them out of that league. If you look at Birmingham, there was all sorts of stuff going on at Birmingham for quite a while, they got relegated and it's all doom and gloom.
They ended up, you know, readdressing everything at the football club, Craig Gardner has done a fantastic job behind the scenes, putting an infrastructure in place. The American owners have allowed Craig to get on with it. I've had Craig at two clubs. He's a very, very intelligent boy, very down-to-earth, meat and potatoes man, but very, very knowledgeable about what's needed. I think he's done a fantastic job there. Cardiff need someone like that to go in there and pick a good manager and to get the club organised behind the scenes, I think there's loads of stuff going on at Cardiff that shouldn't even be mentioned but it is mentioned at that football club.
It's a great football club, it's big, it's the capital city of a country, it's the only club in that city and the potential there, the support potential is just enormous. It needs someone to go in there and really sort the place out and that's not just at first-team level; that's right through the football club. I really do think they need that. I've mentioned Craig doing that at Birmingham and what he's achieved and everything else, Cardiff need someone like him to go in there and do that.
Wales And Cardiff Near Misses
I came close to getting the Wales job a couple of times and Cardiff a couple of times as well, but it never transpired. It wasn’t right for both parties at the time. But right now I’m sitting in my house in the South of England and I’m quite happy where I am!
Birmingham Backed To Succeed
Birmingham have got the backing. Craig Gardner behind the scenes, he's a big Birmingham supporter and he has the club at heart, he'll understand what's needed, what's necessary. The great thing with Craig is that he's actually been very successful in the Premier League as well. He's worked in the Championship, he's played in the Championship, but he's also worked at the top level.
So he will know what's needed and necessary to take them to the next stage. Birmingham have got a great future in front of them. It'd be amazing in a few years’ time if they're up with Aston Villa. That would be huge to have that competition between them. It would be fantastic.”
Championship Challenge
Chris Davies has done a fantastic job at Birmingham, as has Phil Parkinson at Wrexham. You can look at the managers and say that they’ve had everything that they've wanted. But you still have to do it. Some football clubs, some in the Premier League, have spent an absolute fortune and been anything but successful.
They’ve been given what's necessary and next year will be a good challenge. The Championship is not an easy league. It's a really, really tough league and for both teams, it'll be even tougher next year. So it'll be interesting to see how they cope and if they can push on.
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