CARETAKER manager Mickey Lewis was one of the first to admit: "I want the job."

And he has the backing of a great number of United players.

Some insisted it wasn't just a case of "better the devil you know" but that Lewis had the respect of the team, both as a person and as a coach.

It was amazing how the atmosphere was lifted at training at Trinity College and at the Manor Ground yesterday.

Lewis took the players training for an hour and the team were then given a short talk by chairman Firoz Kassam.

One of the first decisions Lewis has made has been to drop himself for Saturday's FA Cup first-round tie against Morecambe.

"Everything's gone crazy around here and it would be difficult for me to play with all this going on," he said.

So Lewis may well turn out for the reserves against Gillingham Res at the Manor tonight.

He added: "It was good at training. I only did an hour and spoke to the players, but they listened to what I had to say and were quite responsive. "I've said I want the job. Obviously, it depends on results to a certain degree, but I believe it's a job I can do well. I've worked under some very talented managers and a lot of their good ideas have rubbed off."

Among the bosses and coaches Lewis has worked under are Ronnie Allen, Ron Wylie and Johnny Giles at West Brom, Arthur Cox at Derby and Mark Lawrenson, Brian Horton, Denis Smith, Malcolm Crosby, Steve McClaren and Malcolm Shotton at Oxford.

"Arthur Cox was the best, in my mind," said Lewis, who is currently working on a weekly basis without a contract.

In recent games, United have come under criticism for hoofing the ball forward and Lewis said he wanted to get them back to being a passing team.

"With the kids, we always work on being a passing team - but not as a passing team that gets nowhere. "Due to results, we're just short of confidence, but I could see in the early-season games against Southend and Oldham that, when the confidence is OK, we can pass it very well.

"My job over the next few days is just to put more belief into the players. I've got to take the fear out of them."

United will be without Paul Tait and Steve Davis through suspension for Saturday's FA Cup tie against Morecambe. Tait starts a three-game ban while Davis is sidelined for one match after accumulating five bookings.

UNITED remind season ticket holders that they must buy their tickets for Saturday's Cup tie against Morecambe before 5pm on Friday, if they want to pay the members' price.

Story date: Wednesday 27 October

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