SM
Newcastle vs. West Ham: 11 hrs 57 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

Gianfranco Zola "happy to take criticism" amid growing pressure

:Headline: Gianfranco Zola 'happy to take criticism' amid growing pressure: ID:293527: from db_amp
Gianfranco Zola denies suggestions that he has overhauled his training methods at Birmingham City, claiming that he will stick to his own beliefs.

Birmingham City manager Gianfranco Zola has confessed that results simply have not been good enough since he took charge and has vowed to turn things around.

The 50-year-old is already under increasing pressure at St Andrew's Stadium just three months after replacing popular boss Gary Rowett, winning two of his 17 games at the helm.

Zola admitted to being annoyed by his players' performance in their 1-0 home reverse to Wigan Athletic last time out, leaving them eight points clear of the relegation zone, and reports in the local press claimed that he had decided to make changes on the training ground.

It is claimed by the Birmingham Mail that the former West Ham United and Watford chief has shortened the length of training sessions, bringing it more in line with the methods used by predecessor Rowett, but Zola was quick to deny these rumours.

"Either it is incorrect information or the informant is not very reliable," he told reporters. "I've always been very honest and I will take the stick from everyone, but I won't take false information. I keep to my work and keep to my belief and it's as simple as that. I repeat, you can tell me I'm not performing as a good manager which is fair enough; fair enough because of the results, but not that I get influenced and change my work.

"I believe in my work and I will never change my work and never change my beliefs in football. I came here promising to deliver certain things and in terms of results those things have not come. So, I'm the first one to put my hand up. If you criticise me I'm happy to take the criticism and I will take it positively.

"Being very open, what I don't like is the lies in stories. I read an article in a newspaper. It's not true. I didn't change the regime or the work. You can go and ask the players and they will tell you that they love what they do. If I noticed that they were not responding to the training and they were not liking it then I would consider adapting.

"I'm here not for myself, I'm here for them. It's the players that encourage me to carry on doing the training that I do. I can show you the training sessions. I have all of them on videos. If you can see there is a different type of regime you can judge it yourself. Very simple."

Birmingham return to action on Saturday afternoon with a trip to take on Cardiff City in South Wales.

amp_article__293527 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2017-03-11 11:28:52:
html db last update - 2017-03-11 11:28:52 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Gianfranco Zola

Click here for more stories about Birmingham City

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Wycombe WanderersWycombe15112235181735
2Wrexham1694325111431
3Stockport CountyStockport1786329171230
4Birmingham CityBirmingham1493226151130
5Huddersfield TownHuddersfield158252315826
6Barnsley167542420426
7Lincoln CityLincoln167542320326
8Reading158252422226
9Bolton WanderersBolton158252425-126
10Mansfield TownMansfield147342016424
11Exeter CityExeter157261413123
12Peterborough UnitedPeterborough166373229321
13Bristol Rovers166371721-421
14Charlton AthleticCharlton155461617-119
15Stevenage165471116-519
16Northampton TownNorthampton164661821-318
17Wigan AthleticWigan154561312117
18Rotherham UnitedRotherham164571419-517
19Blackpool164572230-817
20Crawley TownCrawley174491527-1216
21Leyton Orient154381418-415
22Cambridge UnitedCambridge153391324-1112
23Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury1632111629-1311
24Burton Albion151591528-138
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .