182 Quotes About English-athlete

A lot of people, some of them close to me as well, have said that I sacrificed myself by doing what I did in bringing Terry on board. I didn't see it that way.

I've left Boro in the Premiership, which was always what I wanted to do. Actually that's not quite true. I took them to three cup finals, where they'd never been before. But I had set my eyes on being the first manager in their history to deliver a major trophy.

You can't let players do what they wish and be professional. That's a fact. As for the team, Boro had two internationals when I got there in 1995. Now they have more than 15. And they didn't cost the fortune some suggest.

Could I have walked out then? If I had, Terry wouldn't have accepted the job.

Last season when things weren't working out, I thought we needed a different voice around the place.

I had to make a change. It was no slight on my staff either. We'd all been at Boro for seven years. But certain players had got too familiar with the set-up. I had to turn it round. Terry was the one man I could think of to do it. So I went for him.

I was determined to get it right on the pitch. Then, if I had to leave at the end of the season, so be it. I never felt threatened or isolated by the arrangement. We worked together and it worked out.

If I'd been able to put the collection together in one go, say over two years, we'd have had a special team, most wouldn't stay. One or two glory seasons and they were off. To them, the north-east was too far out. They wanted to be with the big hitters.

Nobody is that thick-skinned that it doesn't hurt you. Still, you always know what happens in football. I have got used to criticism, I suppose, having been high profile with England and Man U.