HIS appointment as Bristol Rovers manager may have come as a surprise to many, but Ben Garner is determined to prove his worth.
The 39-year-old was
selected to take over from Graham Coughlan, who left to join League Two outfit
Mansfield two weeks ago.
Garner has not been a
manager before but has extensive coaching experience. He has worked under the likes
of Ian Holloway, Tony Pulis, Neil Warnock and Alan Pardew.
After starting off in Crystal Palace‘s academy, Garner progressed to the role of first team coach and later became assistant manager at West Brom. For the best sport betting previews of the EFL action head over to www.22bet.co.uk/articles/news
Following a stint as
assistant to Steve Coppell at Indian Super League club ATK, he has now been
handed the opportunity to be the manager in his own right – and at a club
flying high in League One.
“I’m very, very excited,”
he said. “It’s been a long process getting to this point and a lot of hard work
has gone into getting to this stage.
“I’m delighted to be at
Bristol Rovers. It’s a fantastic club with great support and it’s a wonderful
opportunity for me. There’s great potential to move forward and I’m really
looking forward to it.”
Although his reign got off
to a disappointing start with a 2-1 home defeat against lowly AFC Wimbledon on
Boxing Day, Rovers still lie sixth – in the final play-off position – heading
into today’s testing game at Fleetwood, the team directly below them in the
table.
“It’s a really good
platform,” said Garner. “Full credit to the players and staff. They have done
really well to put the club in a strong position. I want to build on that and
push on.
“I’ve watched virtually
all the games and I’m up to speed on the squad, how they’ve done and where I
think it can go forward. Now it’s about getting to know the players and working
on the grass.”
As he gets used to making
the big decisions, Garner can call on the experience he’s had working under
managers who have bossed at the top level.
“They are all very
different managers,” added the rookie boss. “I’ve learned from their strengths
and vast experience, and it’s been a great learning curve.
“They’ve passed on a lot
of their wisdom and also told me about the mistakes they think they have made.
It’s prepared me thoroughly for this role.”
