Friday July 5th Players must adapt to the style of play I want, says City boss BRISTOL City head coach Sean O'Driscoll will not hesitate to sign new players if those already at the club fail to embrace his football philosophy. At last able to remodel his squad and build a possession-based team similar to those he constructed at AFC Bournemouth and Doncaster Rovers earlier in his managerial career, the 55-year-old Midlander wants to radically alter City's style of play. But he insists he cannot afford to waste time on those who are unable or unwilling to adapt and will seek suitable replacements in the transfer market in order to successfully revamp the dynamic of a side that has struggled for at least two years. Having already addressed the urgent necessity of recruiting a goalkeeper and a right-sided centre-half, O'Driscoll will assess his squad during pre-season before identifying any other areas that might require strengthening. "You have to train the way you play and pre-season will show me who is capable of adapting and who is going to struggle," said the head coach. "We are trying to adapt the way we play and make sure they understand, and we will see how far that gets us. "Once we get back into the routine, we will have a better idea of where people are and what we have to do. You get them into competitive situations in pre-season and then you can see what you need to do. "After a while, it becomes evident that you need this type of player or that type of player and your recruitment can be a little bit more selective. A goalkeeper and a right-sided centre-half were crucial, so to start pre-season with those already in place is pleasing. "Now we need to take our time, assess things in pre-season and see where we go from there in terms of who else we bring in." O'Driscoll is determined not to repeat the mistakes made by previous managers and recruit players who do not fit easily into the team dynamic. Not given to signing players for the sake of it, he will be extremely selective from here on in. If City manage to sell any of their senior Championship performers during the remainder of the summer, they will be replaced only by players who can fit quickly and easily into the team's style of play. O'Driscoll said: "There is no point in plucking players out of the air and hoping they are going to fit in with what you are doing. I've been trying to restructure from day one and there are always a few you think will do well and a few who end up surprising you. "We have some very talented players but, as a team, it just hasn't worked. The dynamic of the group has not been right and that is what we are trying to change. We don't want to repeat the same mistakes that have been made in the past." Read more: http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Play...tory-19480727-detail/story.html#ixzz2YHHmFeQ4
Do I have the right to feel a little bit afraid of what the coming season has on offer? Forget the excuses about trial squads and the fact that we need to take a look at players in a competitive situation because if we are not taking these matches seriously then we are in trouble. The season will be upon us before you can say get rid of Killkenny and I haven't seen, or heard, anything from our pre-season matches that give me any confidence that the total rebuild is anywhere near under way. SOD stated that he is prepared to sign new players if the current batch don't meet his style of play and other criteria but I have been led to believe that the money is not available. The reality is that if he wanted to prove to us that his way will work then we should have beaten our last 2 opponents with ease, but if you didn't notice we didn't. I fear that when the season starts we will be as under prepared as we have been for the last several years and that can only mean trouble in my eyes.
