Aidy Boothroyd - No Apologies

Discussion in 'The Transfer List' started by Big Dave Airey, Dec 6, 2006.

  1. Big Dave Airey

    Big Dave Airey Reservist

    From Todays Sun:

    AIDY BOOTHROYD says he makes no apologies for Watford’s style of play.

    Their long-ball and physical approach has earned the Hornets plenty of critics.

    But boss Boothroyd says they are fighting for Premiership survival and not out to be pleasing to the eye. He insisted: “Entertaining is not the be-all and end-all.”

    That was the case on Monday night when they fought out a dour 0-0 draw at Manchester City.

    It was Watford’s seventh draw from 15 games to go with their one win, leaving them next to bottom in the Premiership.

    Boothroyd said: “A point is good for us at Manchester City, who are an improving team.

    “We are in a scrap this season to survive. People have written us off. But we will battle every week.

    “We know that when we are up against quality sides we need to stand firm and be resolute.

    “After losing our previous three league games the match against City was just about stopping the rot and getting a point back on the board.”

    A key figure for Boothroyd in gaining that draw was in-form goalkeeper Richard Lee.

    Until the beginning of last month, Lee was probably more famous for his appearance on the popular BBC show Dragons’ Den than anything he had achieved in his footballing career.

    Having succeeded in squeezing £150,000 out of the ‘Dragons’ for a 50 per cent share in his cap-making business, he was not seeing much action in the Watford first team.

    But Ben Foster’s knee injury offered Lee, 24, an unexpected chance to excel on the football field once more. And he showed a liking for the TV cameras again at Eastlands, turning in an outstanding performance.

    He said: “I am probably more known for the TV programme than my football.

    “When I went on, I did fear I was setting myself up for a bit of a fall but in the end it came across well and we managed to get ourselves an investment, which not many other people do.

    “The lads at Watford made a pretty big deal out of it. As soon as it finished, I got about 20 texts and when I came into training the following day there was a fair bit of stick flying about.

    “But it has to be taken for what it is, which is a bit of fun. It is nice to have a sideline but football has always been my first love and I would never allow anything to take my focus away from my profession.”

    Lee insists confidence in Boothroyd’s squad is high and that they will beat the drop.

    He added: “We had a long meeting after losing to Sheffield United, not just to talk about that particular match but our situation in general.

    “The boss was great and we were able to put a lot of things right against Manchester City.

    “Although we only have 10 points, when we look back, we have not had any lucky results. Everything we have got, we have deserved.

    “There is still a lot of belief in this squad and we just feel it will only take a few things to start dropping for us to start climbing the table a little bit.”
     

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