The Wisdom of Gaffers

Possession is vanity if you don't do anything with it.

Mark Robins, Huddersfield Town, February 2014.

There was talk that Leicester might be tired after the midweek match at Forest. But you can't tell me that Vardy and Nugent were tired. That's all psychological babble that they might be tired.

Mick McCarthy, Ipswich Town, February 2014.

To be fair to the players, I said to them "go out and some of you prove me wrong"

Steve Evans, Rotherham United, February 2014.

It probably means now that Peter Taylor has picked the wrong team because we lost the match but I don't think that was the case.

Peter Taylor, Gillingham, February 2014.

I don't like defeat at the best of times.

Steve Cotterill, Bristol City, February 2014.

We're splitting hairs again on a decision and the split of the hair went against us.

Graham Westley, Stevenage, February 2014.

Not good enough. That's my assessment.

I can't accept that and I'll not accept that and the players have been left in no uncertain terms that I'll not accept that.

Steven Pressley, Coventry City, February 2014.

I know it's a results-based industry

We have to find a way of winning a game and scoring a goal.

Neal Ardley, Wimbledon, February 2014.

It's not New Year's Eve, I'm not going to be partying at home until two in the morning

Chris Wilder, Northampton Town, February 2014.

We said to the lads afterwards 'what do you feel?', and they said we feel we've lost two points today because we should have gone on to win that game.

Terry Butcher, Hibernian, February 2014.

There's something in the water up in Inverness, I'm serious. With this bunch of boys in that dressing room, there are no egos, no 'Billy-big-times'.

If they play good, indifferent or bad, you know you're getting 100 per cent. They train like that, they play like that, they live their lives like that.

John Hughes, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, February 2014.

It would be easy to just crumble and roll over and let United come down the hill and beat us by four or five.

Stuart McCall, Motherwell, February 2014.

Was considering starting Scariest Manager in League One poll, but the top three was so clearly Pressley-Clough-Kavanagh, and Pressley was so clearly in front, that it just seemed pointless.

Steve Evans seems like an archetypal small town crook whose hired muscle might accidentally go too far with a warning beating.

I'd imagine it takes a lot to get on the wrong side of Kenny Jackett, but once you got there you'd find it was a fucking terrifying place.

Westly kind of has a "YOU'LL NEVER FIT KITCHENS IN DIDCOT AGAIN!" sort of vibe.

There's an old saying that a good horse only jumps as high as he has to. Well I hate this saying more than anything. I think a horse should jump as high as it can.

We looked at how high we had to jump today and, when we realised that it wasn't so high, we had already fallen behind.

Jurgen Klopp, Borussia Dortmund, February 2014.

Our keeper Ben Hamer made some cracking saves but that's cup football.

Chris Powell, Charlton Athletic, February 2014.

We have to go backwards at times to go forwards, but you're only as good as your front men.

Mark Cooper, Swindon Town, February 2014.

The first 45 minutes were unacceptable, disappointing, poor and we didn't pass it well enough.

Lee Johnson, Oldham Athletic, February 2014.

will be sitting here for some time trying to work out who yr front men are when you are going backwards to go forwards. thanks wbs.

I'm a realist and a professional, and getting beaten 4-0 isn't good enough.

There's a difference between playing and competing. We played, but I don't think we competed - when you're right on the line and on the verge of going over the line.

I'm really disappointed - I'm not clever enough to come up with a better word than 'disappointed' that isn't a swear word.

Graham Alexander, Fleetwood Town, February 2014.

In the second half, the quality that we've got in the team went into overdrive.

David Flitcroft, Bury, February 2014.

(My browser's spellcheck refuses to recognise Flitcroft. It will learn.)

sounds like a Deighton novel. The Flitcroft Algorithm.

My job is to make sure people concentrate on things that are important.

John Still, Luton Town, February 2014.

I've seen it so many times - teams in this position can drift away. Listen to my words: they can drift away.

If I'm lying on the beach in the summer and we haven't played in the play-offs and given ourselves a chance of promotion I am not going to be a happy man.

Richard Money, Cambridge United, February 2014.

I need 11 players to pick themselves and I've said that to the squad. Otherwise you're juggling balls or spinning plates.

Chris Hargreaves, Torquay United, February 2014.

I'm hard on them on the sidelines because I expect high standards. At 4-0 Tope Obadeyi gave the ball away three times in the last few minutes and I'm trying to tell him 'don't do it because I don't like it'.

John Sheridan, Plymouth Argyle, February 2014.

I tried to push him away with my head

Alan Pardew, Newcastle United, February 2014.

The big danger is that you get side-tracked into losing focus on what we are able to do ourselves.

Nigel Pearson, Leicester City, March 2014.

I worked with Liam Hatch at Gravesend. I should have kicked him in the tunnel beforehand, shouldn't I?

Adrian Pennock, Forest Green Rovers, March 2014.

I'm not really worried about the table. I'm worried about winning games.

Graham Westley, Stevenage, March 2014.

I can't say that there wasn't enough contact because Danny (Shittu) is built like a proverbial.

Ian Holloway, Millwall, March 2014.

In the box it is very important to have physical qualities, but sometimes we need more agility in other games.

But don't only watch how tall a player is, but what is in their heart.

Beppe Sannino, Watford, March 2014.

We are disappointed with the two goals we have conceded. My criticism of the side is that we have conceded two goals and the manner of the two goals.

People will probably write us off, but that is not the right thing to do.

Gary Bowyer, Blackburn Rovers, March 2014.

We're not virtually there

Nigel Pearson, Leicester City, March 2014.

You look at the decisions that they make in terms of how consistent they were in making their decisions and how inconsistent we are and that's why we are where we are.

Shaun Derry, Notts County, March 2014.

it's totally different to the other games where we've thrown away a two goal lead.

Russ Wilcox, Scunthorpe United, March 2014.

You know what's coming when you play Mansfield, it's coming in the box no matter where it is

Nigel Worthington, York City, March 2014.

I can't deny it's not a big three points for us.

Chris Wilder, Northampton Town, March 2014.

I asked our 'wrigglers' as I call them, and by that I mean the players who can get the ball out of their feet and sneak a shot away, to test their keeper.

Colin Cooper, Hartlepool United, March 2014.

everyone has given me a positive yes.

Gareth Ainsworth, Wycombe Wanderers, March 2014.

Scoring goals is the hardest job in football, it wins games and at the moment we haven't got enough people who want to do that. I look and I think 'who really wants to be the one that scores a goal?'. Who wants to go and score the goal and be the hero in front of the fans at home and score the winning goal?

Richie Barker, Portsmouth, March 2014.

Tremendous credit to the boys - it's their hard work and perseverance, and them believing in what I'm saying.

James Beattie, Accrington Stanley, March 2014.

We've been the course and distance before

We looked to nullify them as they looked to nullify us.

Nigel Adkins, Reading, March 2014.

But the good thing about the Championship is that we have a fantastic game coming up next weekend at Derby.

David 'Ned' Kelly, Nottingham Forest (assistant), March 2014.

There are so many adjectives to describe how I'm feeling

Lee Clark, Birmingham City, March 2014.

It's not necessarily an easy situation to continually keep winning.

Kenny Jackett, Wolverhampton Wanderers, March 2014.

The second goal, just before half time was absolute comedy for me. Our corner, and then they score from our corner. You work that one out.

Gareth Ainsworth, Wycombe Wanderers, March 2014.

We would love to do that for the course of 90 minutes but you know at some stage the opposition's going to try and stop you or help you in some way.

Nigel Worthington, York City, March 2014.

I'm a winner. I want to win so bad.