Steve Coppell Quotations

From Day One of this season, he's been exceptional. He's been an impact player.

When he came to us he struggled for a year. He didn't fit in to the team straightaway. When he had opportunities, he didn't do well. We were a little bit at a loss as how to bring out the best in him. I found I really couldn't help him. ... There were times last season when he was in the wilderness and very much confused as to what was required.

He's been injured most of the season. You saw an awful lot of pent-up emotion when he scored. He's spent a lot of time in the treatment room and gym.

Mark made Ian stay behind in training and work at his game.

You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of mistakes he's made that have cost us goals. Over two and a half seasons for any manager to say that about his goalkeeper is exceptional. He's been top quality.

We were desperate for a left side, and the videos landed in our lap.

Complacency is not on our agenda. It is certainly not our biggest danger. My players have worked very hard for what they have achieved so far. They will not allow that to creep in. Neither myself, nor the coaching staff have to do anything to prevent that. They do it themselves.

We are a promoted side and while some may be excited by that challenge, others will think that we'll go straight back down. They wouldn't take the risk, so that drastically limits our parameters. We may be priced out of transfers in other cases, so it could be a frustrating summer to some extent.

The second-half performance reflected what we've been about all season. It was in stark contrast to the attempted exhibition stuff of the first half.

The players are disappointed because we had good possession and decent chances. We were on the front foot after we scored, but they got the winner from a great bit of skill.

A lot of established players - players who are proven and who you know what you are going to get from them - wouldn't want to come because of our situation. We are a promoted side and while some may be excited by that challenge, others will think that we'll go straight back down. They wouldn't take the risk, so that drastically limits our parameters.

We had a tremendous year. It's been dreamlike in many ways.

In a position where every mistake is costly, I can probably count on the fingers on one hand the times where he would probably argue that he's at fault. And I would probably question a couple of those goals even. He's been terrific defensively and ... his distribution has been very important in our goal scoring.

I'm under no pressure to sell so I don't expect to lose anyone and I don't expect anyone to want to leave. We have a relatively small but close-knit squad and it's very rare that a promoted team loses players.

It was a difficult game to evaluate but over the 90 minutes I thought we were the better side. They made it difficult for us and for a while it worked.

I just hope we can finish the season off in the same way we've gone all year.

I just hope we can finish the season off in the same way we've gone all year. We had a really strong spell and we got daylight between ourselves and the rest of the pack. We've managed to maintain that distance. But I'm not saying it's become routine now.

He's strong and when he's got a sight of goal he thinks about nothing but scoring. Whether he keeps his place and plays at the weekend, though, I don't know. Last time he was injured I was guilty of rushing him back too quickly, so we'll see how he reacts to two hours of football and take it from there.

They are a unique blend of players who have been able to achieve a high level of performance over a long period of time.

He pulled his hamstring and it's the hamstring he pulled last year, it's not good.

It sounds blase but there is a certain amount of luck. We'd all like to take a certain amount of credit for Kevin Doyle... But I can't really remember what it was I particularly liked about Kevin when I watched him in Ireland. I had five pints of Guinness in the afternoon and it was all a bit blurred.

Nine months of misery.

At the end of the day, it's all about what's on the shelf at the end of the year.

I'm not going to make it a target, but it's something to aim for.

Referees don't come down here with a particular flavoured shirt on.

The lad got over-excited when he saw the whites of the goalpost's eyes.

He's carrying his left leg, which, to be honest, is his only leg.

If the players go Christmas shopping, it's not ideal preparation. It may sound silly, but having to fight off the crowds in a busy shopping centre or having people visit can be demanding.

People talk about the prestige of beating records but prestige never bought me dinner in a restaurant. It's winning games that does that.