Gareth Ainsworth press unveiling: Ollie Westbury and Nathan Judah analysis
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00:00Hello, I'm Nathan Judah. I'm here with Shrewsbury Town Reporter. It is Mr. Ollie Westbury. Ollie, we've heard for the first time from the new Shrewsbury manager, Mr. Gareth Ainsworth.
00:10Long press conference, seen as there are only a few people in there. Plenty of questions from you. And I thought you answered them very well indeed.
00:18Look, no being out of the bush, this is a big coup for the club, isn't it?
00:23Yeah, absolutely. We did a video with Johnny yesterday and there's no other way to describe it. It is a coup. It's great to have him here.
00:33His energy is infectious. Just seeing him with the enthusiasm that he kind of has as he's talking and as he's answering questions.
00:40I love the positivity. I think that is exactly what the place needs. Everybody feels a bit flat.
00:47The form's not been very good. It's understandable why the place is flat. But it's just the kind of positive spark and energy, I think, is a good way of describing it.
00:57And you've just seen that today. Everybody's really excited about it. I'm really excited about it. The club are really excited about it.
01:03The fans are really excited about it. It feels like everybody's united and that's what they need.
01:07They probably needed it from the start of the season, to be fair, but that's what they need to try and get out of this.
01:13There's a confidence about him that he knows his ability and what he can do at this football club.
01:21I think, like you say, he needs the players to buy into that and there will be some movement, you would have thought, in January.
01:27But at the same time, he wants to have a look at these players and he sees no reason why they can't be moving on up pretty quickly.
01:33But it will take a little bit of time. There will be a transition period there.
01:37He has talked about there probably is going to be some short-term pain. Shrewsbury's results are not good.
01:43Eleven losses out of fifteen League One games. They've struggled for four, haven't they, this season?
01:48The magic wand phrase has been mentioned several times. He's not going to have a magic wand.
01:53He's not just going to be able to solve the defensive issues and start. Ultimately, League One is a very high standard this season.
02:01Some of the teams further down are quite poor but there are probably 16 teams that, at the start of the season, say we should be in at the bare minimum of the playoffs.
02:08There are some difficult fixtures, none other than his first game against Blues.
02:14There could be some short-term pain. We can't just expect it to magically fix like that.
02:19But let's hope for some positive results and some positive performances as Shrewsbury try and get their season kick-started.
02:27He doesn't live close here at the moment but he did speak about where he's going to be living and also about the length of contract.
02:35An 18-month deal for Gareth Ainsworth at Shrewsbury Town. He said he felt that was important, not just for the club but for him too.
02:44It gives the club some form of security. It also suggests that, although he stressed he does not want to manage in League Two,
02:51it also suggests that it's not just a firefighting job where you come in, you keep us up and if you don't then we go our separate ways.
02:58That's not what it feels like. It feels like he wants to return the club to that period of League One stability.
03:07He wants to make it an 11th successive season in League One and if he can do it, it will be an absolutely incredible job.
03:12But yes, it's not just a short-term appointment. It doesn't feel that way anyway.
03:15And as you'd expect, and I guess why you'd be surprised how many got this over the line, he had offers and he turned them down and he's taken the Shrewsbury job.
03:23Yes, it seems that way. We don't know exactly who it was that he's had offers from but yes, it seems as though this is the job that he wants.
03:29It seems as though it fits both parties and although people won't like to admit it, credit must go to Mickey Moore and to the chairman, Roland Witchley,
03:36for managing to secure somebody like Gareth Ainsworth. I'm not going to lie, when I heard his name I thought it was a bit of a pipe dream.
03:44So the fact that he's here, I think they need some credit for that because everyone's very quick to criticise him, whether that's justified or not.
03:52But they must get credit where credit's due too and it feels as though they've done a really, really good job to get Gareth Ainsworth through the door.
04:00Absolutely. You say they've come under some criticism and a lot of it is faired income I think but you've got to give them credit.
04:06Mickey Moore was there as well, spoke positively about Gareth Ainsworth, lovingly in some aspects.
04:12Quite rightly so in terms of getting a shortlist together, getting those from 40 applications to five names to Ainsworth being the number one.
04:20Even though there were five names, you've got to think that this was almost a nailed uncertainty, haven't it?
04:27Yes, you would have thought so. He said that in his quotes yesterday when they released the statement to say that he'd been appointed new manager,
04:32that he was the number one target from the outset. It's hard for Mickey in there, you've got to ask some challenging questions.
04:40He was proper put on the spot, an element of me that feels a little bit sorry for Mickey Moore.
04:49But it is football, it is the manner of the beast, so nature of the beast, not the manner of the beast.
04:56A challenge nonetheless. He was put on the spot, stories to come out over the next few weeks or next few days.
05:03You'll be milking it for the next few days.
05:06Yes, I'm loving the fact that I've got loads of stuff to write. It's nice to have something to write that's actually positive.
05:11It is, absolutely.
05:12I'm fed up of Shrewsbury-Felter there, fifth consecutive loss and then I change it to sixth. Come on, let's go.
05:19In terms of new ownership and takeovers etc, there was quite a lot about that, about Gareth and his view on it,
05:27especially when it comes to signings and where the club wants to go.
05:31Mickey Moore spoke very openly about it, maybe a bit too openly I thought.
05:35But at the same time, he didn't shy away from the subject and I thought it was fair enough with what he said.
05:40So what did come out of that press conference that maybe we didn't know before it?
05:44Nothing really.
05:45No?
05:46No. He spoke about it and was happy to take questions on it. We weren't told that we weren't allowed to ask questions about it.
05:54He says he stays in his lane, so that'll be a line for at some stage.
06:01I think he said progressing, but that's no further on than when the chairman said we were in advanced negotiations.
06:07Did I really expect to get an ownership update today? Probably not.
06:12But do you feel that he would have taken this role, or Gareth would have taken this role, if there wasn't a deal that was close?
06:19Maybe an investment in the future?
06:21I think probably been sold the dream in terms of there must be some form of...
06:25There's often things that are not said that you have to infer.
06:28I think this is perhaps one of those situations where we don't know anything, we don't know that a takeover is close.
06:35You wouldn't expect them to say, yes, new owners, pick this manager.
06:39I'm not for one saying, but you sometimes have to read between the lines a little bit to see.
06:44When he talks about the project in the long term, we know that they're trying to sell the club.
06:49So that must be with new owners.
06:51Exciting times for Shrewsbury to come if they can get that off the floor and get that ball rolling.
06:58You just finished back on Gareth, he said he's met the players and he was asked to guess whether he was going to do double sessions here, there and everywhere.
07:04But he said that he's not going to do that in this nature of football and today's modern game.
07:09Yes, I did say that. I asked him if he'd met the players and he confirmed that he'd been up to the training ground,
07:14more in a watching capacity for the moment.
07:18But yes, so in a watching capacity at the moment and I'm sure that he'll get on the training ground over the next week or so.
07:28Like I say, maybe short term pain for a bit of long term gain, but at the same time, this is all well and good.
07:34But it's the project on the pitch that's going to matter and that's going to matter in a couple of weeks time.
07:38Yes, absolutely. Next Saturday, Blues here, 12.30 kick off.
07:41What a start.
07:42Are you going to be there?
07:43I tell you what, I fancy it. I fancy it.
07:45I feel like I want to go and like...
07:46You've got to go to Fulham.
07:47I want to go.
07:48I kind of want to go here.
07:49I want to run through a wall.
07:50Yes, yes.
07:51Well, and I think that's what he'll want the players to do for him, won't he?
07:53I mean, that's the kind of mentality that they'll want and maybe ability wise they might not be quite there,
07:56but at the same time, you know, when you go, you might need a game like that.
08:00Blues at home, that might be the kind of game they need to kick start this season.
08:03It sounds ridiculous. It sounds like Blues should come here and blast them three or four or five,
08:07but at the same time, he'll want to really, you know, emphasise it
08:11and try and make it at least difficult to beat for the first couple of games.
08:15Absolutely. I think that'll be the case.
08:17It'll be like you're kind of onside, you're fully committed, you're fully in, fully intense.
08:22And, you know, I can't wait to see the Gareth Ainsworth era start.
08:27And you'll be seeing lots more content on Shropshire Start?
08:29You will. You will.
08:31OK, that's it. That's it from me and Ollie.
08:33You're all the latest on Gareth Ainsworth, all the feedback from today.
08:36Make sure you log on to shropshirestart.com.