Dean Saunders: Press Conference

It was a very interesting day at Doncaster Rovers, as we rocked up at Cantley Park for the scheduled 2pm press conference, where John Ryan and the board of directors introduced Dean Saunders as the new manager of the club to the local and national media.

                         Saunders is introduced to the media by Rovers chairman, John Ryan.


It was immediately apparent that Rovers are simply not used to big press conferences, as we were put up first in a port-a-cabin, before being moved into the first team's gym at the training ground.

Once everyone was seated, Club Chairman John Ryan began proceedings with this statement;

"I would first of all like to place on record my thanks and gratitude to Sean O'Driscoll for the last five years, as we wouldn't be where we are today without him."

This was immediately followed with the introduction of Dean Saunders, who only found out about the job less than 24 hours ago. He said;

"It all happened very quickly. I received a phone call offering me the job, I then watched the last game against Reading last Saturday and didn't get to bed until 5am.

"I then drove here this morning, met the players, trained with them and now I'm here speaking to you."

Dean Saunders seemed very enthusiastic to get going, something which he believes, has already rubbed off on the players;

"When I arrived, everyone was really down. But we had a chat and a healthy, fun session, and they left laughing and joking.

"I hope they bring that with them to tomorrow's game."

John Ryan explained the departure of O'Driscoll, and answered critisism that he had publicly backed the manager as early as this Tuesday;

"Things change overnight in Football. I felt that Sean was struggling to cope with the pressure and believed that a change needed to be made.

"I also believe the club needed invigorating, and I can't think of anyone better than Dean to do that.

"We're really hopeful the fans will come and get behind us and start moving up the table."

When asked about his style of play and his influences, Saunders referred to his admiration of Liverpool and in particular, Kenny Dalglish;

"If you look at what Kenny is doing now, he's building a team that plays as a team. It's not about individuals.

"I want to win games, I've always been passionate and take pride in my performances as a manager, as I did when I was a player.

"If you go out on a Friday and have a McDonald's or a pint, then you're not taking pride in your performance.

"I want to play good football. But clearly, it's not been working and at the end of the day, it's about results."



Dean Saunders' first game in charge will be against Crystal Palace at The Keepmoat Stadium tomorrow.