Mr Hereford talks to Five Live

Graham Turner was interviewed on Five Live this evening during at a look at League Two.



Graham Turner - Mr Hereford

The Hereford United manager was first asked how he felt about going back into League Two:

"Excitement, apprehension, concern. We've been out of the League nine years. It's going a little bit into the unknown.

"We've had sweeping changes during this closed-season. A lot of change in playing personnel but certainly the over-riding feeling at the moment for everybody connected with the club is excitement.

"I've got to say I think the Second Division is looking particularily strong. There's some interesting characters in there. There's some quite big clubs by Second Division standards with a lot of financial resources.

"So I think realistically if we can finish in the top half of the table that will be a great season. We'd love to have a flirtation with the play-offs but we've got to be realistic about things.

"We finished up with just ten players from last seasons play-off winning side. The emphasis on the players we've brought in has been fairly young players. We perhaps, if anything, lack a bit of experience.

"I've looked around for the experienced players. In many cases you just can't compete in the sort of market they are looking at."

Turner was asked if the bull was still paraded around:

"Only on special occassions like big cup-ties. They are magnificent creatures and give the fans a little bit of excitement particularily visitors who perhaps have never seen such magnificent creatures at such close quarters."

What about a bull at the opening home game?

"I'd not even thought about getting the bull around for our opening league game. We'll get onto the stockman and see if he can bring him around."

Reminded about going out of the League:

"It was an awful day that day. For the first time we were bottom of the league. It was a quarter to five on the final day of the season.

"It's taken a lot of rebuilding of the club. We were in dire financial difficulties. We went into a CVA. We were owing a lot of money all over the place. It has taken a long time to get the club financially stable again.

"One thing we've done is to pay the players on time in full - that was the first priority.

"We've had nobody putting money into the club. We've had to live by our wits and now we hope to take it forward again and that is to stabilise ourselves as a league club."

The conversation turned to the pre-season friendlies:

"Bit of a mixed bag. We drew with Cheltenham last Saturday, we lost to Bristol City the previous Saturday.

"What you need to do as a manager is get all your bad results, all the faults coming out, in pre-season. Sometimes a bad defeat, like Peterborough had at Rushden and Diamonds, can highlight one or two things you can get over to the players and put them right before the big kick-off."

Turner was reminded about being Chairman and manager at Edgar Street and asked how long his contract was:

"Another day to go on it or indefinately - which ever way results go. The one thing about it, as I've said to the supporters, the day they want me out is the day I walk away from it.

"You couldn't possible do that (stay on as chairman if not the manager). It would be a total divorce. I would look for other things and start a new walk of life.

"But we shouldn't be talking about that. The season hasn't kicked off yet and we looking forward to it with great expectations."

If you ever did leave the presumably you'd tell us it was by mutual consent:

"I'd give myself a ten year contract just before I left," was Turner's witty retort.

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