Specsavers

INTERVIEW WITH KIM GRANT

Brian Caffarey
12:00am, Sun 1st Jun 2008
I spoke to Kim Grant yesterday evening. He is at Keele at the moment completing a UEFA B course. Phil Gilchrist also happens to be on the same course, which finishes on 5 June.

Naturally, I congratulated Kim, first of all, on his appointment and wished him every success. He said that he was delighted to have been appointed and asked me to issue a brief statement on his behalf (see earlier news item).

I decided not to pose too many questions to Kim at this stage in order not to pre-empt the ? no doubt numerous! ? questions which Woking fans will have for him on Tuesday evening.

Kim was keen to tell me, though, how much he was looking forward to the job at Kingfield: ?I?ve had other opportunities to go into management but I knew that this was the right job for me. The Club has solid foundations and an ambitious Chairman. I?m really looking forward to working with Phil and Colin Lippiatt. I know that Colin has an immense knowledge of the non-League game and I will certainly be seeking his advice. In the end, though, the decisions will be down to me. I?ve got some players in mind whom I?d like to bring to the Club and I will naturally be discussing them ? and other possibilities ? with Colin.?

Kim is realistic enough to know that his appointment won?t be welcomed by absolutely everyone, although I did my best to reassure him that Woking fans are (by and large!) fair-minded and would want to give him time to make his mark on the Club. He is also aware that his lack of management experience will be criticised by some people. But he points out that ?experience? comes in different forms: ?I?ve played at a senior level in the League and at international level. I?ve also been a part of a Conference-winning side at Yeovil under Gary Johnson and I think I know what it takes to win this league. I?ve played in several countries abroad and studied coaching techniques wherever I?ve been. I will be introducing new ideas, right through from the warm-up to what we do on the pitch.?

Kim emphasised that he was very happy to accept the challenge of getting the Cards into the Football League in three years. Indeed, he is setting himself a more ambitious target than that and would dearly love to emulate his former team-mate at Luton, Gary Waddock, who did it in one year at Aldershot Town!

I asked him, finally, about the link with Phil Gilchrist. ?We didn?t play together?, Kim replied. ?We got to know each other, though, through mutual friends and we?ve stayed in touch ever since. I had several possible candidates in mind for the Assistant Coach role, including some from abroad, but I decided that Phil, with his top-flight experience as a defender, his stint as club captain at Oxford United and his time at the Leicester Academy fitted the bill best. Phil, like me, is very ambitious, wants to get into management himself and is determined to succeed.?

Kim mentioned that both he and Phil will also be registering as players.


Brian Caffarey
1 June 2008

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