I think they will

AN was green coming into it and possibly buoyed up by what must have been relatively "easy" - taking the best team in the Championship and making them perform. He must have thought this management lark is easy...then found out that, well, not so much.

We all know about the recruitment failings and I can't believe steps haven't been taken already to make that better this time around. How McNally's departure affects that I don't know. I guess we'll find out in the next few weeks. Certainly it sounds like a new infrastructure is now in place.

However it's undeniable that AN will have had to dig deep: that best squad in the Championship was one of the worst if not the worst in the Premiership. No chance of keeping a record of never losing twice on the bounce or anything like it.

He'll have learned a lot the hard way and I suspect he'll tale some time once this season is over to reassess everything. I'm encouraged by some of the things he's done e.g. the team awayday when everyone talked about it and a few changes were made - they weren't enough but it shows he's open to ideas.

I think we should stick with him until Christmas at least. Then if we're not top six at that point, maybe think again. I honestly expect him to do well next season.

Job One is to have one of the strongest squads in the Championship by the time the pre-season friendlies start. Job Two is to apply what's been learned this season throughout next season.

There's also the small matter of club strategy now McNally's gone. We can't be too timid but equally we can't be taking unaffordable liabilities on our balance sheet against the *possibility* of bouncing straight back up - that way lies Portsmouth. One for the board and new CEO.

Posted By: Old Man, May 10, 14:20:25