Oxford United boss proud of stability (From Oxford Mail)

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Oxford United boss proud of stability

8:50am Friday 27th January 2012 in Oxford Utd By Mark Edwards

Chris Wilder

THERE are now only 13 managers in the country who have been in charge of their clubs for longer than Oxford United boss Chris Wilder.

The departure of John Coleman from Accrington Stanley this week means that the U’s boss has climbed another place on the longest-serving list ahead of Sunday’s trip to Burton.

And it is something that Wilder is proud of.

When you consider that United’s manager only took up the position in December 2008, it’s an amazing statistic and just shows how quickly football chairmen ring the changes.

But it also shows that if somebody is given time to change the way a club is run, the results will follow.

And that, Wilder believes, is the key.

“I am proud of that, yes,” he said. “It’s not about me though, or anyone else for that matter – the important thing is that the club keeps moving forwards.

“The people that run the club recognise that the stability of our football club, in terms of putting the work in and building, is so important.

“We are still in the process of working hard and it’s continuing in its own steady way – and we want that to continue.”

United are in the top ten for results over the last three years, something that their manager is keen to continue.

His record as boss reads P161 W78 D39 L44, with a win percentage of 48.45.

“There was a stat from the last three years in terms of games won, and we are in the top ten on results over that period.

“I think it is only us, Crawley and Stevenage from the lower leagues in the top ten.

“That’s something to be proud of as well, and we are all working to keep that sort of run going.”

LONGEST-SERVING MANAGERS 1 A Ferguson appointed Nov 1986, 2 A Wenger Sep 1996, 3 D Moyes Mar 2002, 4 J Still Apr 2004, 5 T Pulis Jun 2006, 6 P Tisdale Jun 2006, 7 M McCarthy Jul 2006, 8 T Brown May 2007, 9 S Evans May 2007, 10 K Jackett Nov 2007, 11 H Redknapp Oct 2008, 12 G Abbott Dec 2008, 13 L Clark Dec 2008, 14 C Wilder Dec 2008.

Comments(12)

DuberryandBeanofan says...
10:59am Fri 27 Jan 12

Wilder might have his doubters but for me, if it wasn't for him and Kelvin Thomas we would probably be stuck in the Blue Square Premier, who-ever criticizes him needs to learn to give him the benefit of the doubt and I am proud to have Chris Wilder as manager of OUFC