Cambridge United’s interim head coach Barry Corr talks up need for permanent manager appointment
Barry Corr has conceded that the Cambridge United squad are in desperate need of some ‘stability’ with regards to the management situation at the club.
It is expected that yesterday’s 2-0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers will mark the end of Corr’s interim spell in charge of the U’s. The Irishman has been overseeing first-team matters ever since Neil Harris’ shock departure to Millwall on February 21.
But it is anticipated that the new boss will be appointed early next week, with his first game at the helm being Saturday’s home clash against Northampton Town.
“They need stability. They need know that this is the man in charge and he’s here for the long term – that will definitely help the players,” Corr told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
“I would imagine it will be from Monday and he’ll have a full training week to get ideas into the players, which will help as well. We can start from there.”
All three of Corr’s games in charge have ended in defeats at the hands of sides eyeing promotion from Sky Bet League One this term.
And he has admitted that it has been nigh on impossible for him to implement any of his own ideas during such a short period of time.
He added: “You go into this situation and you don’t have training minutes. You have to condition the players in a particular way.
“There wasn’t much I was going to be able to change in that time. There was a big injury list and the fixtures were difficult.
“I’ve learned lots from the situation but I also know what football is. If you want to make a big difference then you need training minutes and you need to be able to manipulate training sessions to get what you want and get your ideas across.
“We’ve just been playing and then recovering and then playing again. Most of the work we’ve done is just on a blackboard.
“It’s not my place really as an interim head coach to make big changes. For the most part it was just put them into a shape and play a kind of a style and a strategy that they are used to.
“Unfortunately we haven’t got any results over the last few games. They were difficult fixtures, but the new man that comes in definitely has a good group of players to work with, I’m sure of that.”
Former Blackpool, Preston North End and Huddersfield Town boss Simon Grayson, who last managed in the Indian Super League, is the current favourite with the bookmakers to fill the vacancy at the Cledara Abbey Stadium.
