Bryan Robson Quotations

They wanted to jump on their own bandwagon. Bobby Charlton had never made it as a manager. Bobby Moore hadn't either. I think they never stopped trying to put me in the same category. That was the road they went down with me.

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.

In a way, certain sections of the media always wanted to knock me because I had captained my country and been skipper at Old Trafford. It was all a bit odd really.

All the stuff about being a drinking club, or having players who were not good enough, I treat as rubbish.

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.

That didn't happen. Still, I had six pretty good years and one where I didn't reach what I wanted for myself or the club. I don't accept that makes you a bad manager or a poor coach. If that is the view I strongly disagree with it.

The possibility of playing Birmingham in the next round is an exciting proposition for fans in the midlands - but I've not looked too far ahead, because we've got to get past Reading first. I am confident we can do a job in the replay, and I hope the team will see things through.

We spoke about lapses of concentration and things which he had to put right and, in this match, he put it all in. I'm delighted he's taken it on board. I can't consider sending him out on loan again. I've got a squad of players who are still in the cup and have some important league matches coming up. I can understand his concerns. With a World Cup in the summer he needs to impress his manager but, on that performance against Fulham, he can definitely do that.

Yes, I do want to get back into football, I haven't lost the faith. Alex wants to help with my fitness, keeping my edge and maintaining the focus.

If we played like that every week, we wouldn't be so inconsistent.

Paolo di Canio is capable of scoring the goal he scored.

As far as I'm concerned, that is the end of the matter. We have a big game against Birmingham on Saturday and that is where our focus lies.

This is the one-off occasion and you can't get any bigger occasion than that

The first time I saw Giggsy, he was playing for Salford Boys against United's apprentices. He was thin and wiry but he just glided past four of our apprentices as if they weren't even there, then he put the ball in the back of the net. I just thought 'This kid's an absolute natural'

In the end, a small section of the crowd, maybe 2,000 to 3,000, turned against me. And that was it. Inside the club they know your best intentions, but the minority shout louder than the rest.

We've got to be outstanding when we start and let other people chase against us.

When you beat Arsenal, they are a good three points.

Winning the Championship is like taking a 26-year ball and chain from around our legs. Now we can go forward, and hopefully dominate English football for the next 10 years, like Liverpool did.

We're going to start the game at nil-nil and go out and try to get some goals.

And at the end of the season you can only do as well as what you have done

It wasn't going to be our day on the night.

We were broken down not by Chelsea's good play but by our own mistakes. After that Chelsea played as well as they can and it was a long night for us.

Neil Clement and Curtis Davies are developing a good understanding as central defenders and getting to know each other's game well.

I have been in the Championship twice before and got promoted and that is what I intend to do here. If I can hold most of this squad together I think we have got a really good chance.

I have invited him and his staff in after the game for a glass of wine. I have no qualms about it.

I can't guarantee that to either of them because I've got other players in front of them in the squad.

For me that's his best game since I've been here,

If an offer comes in that's acceptable to the club and to me as manager then we'll have to look at that, but at the moment we haven't had any bids for Rob.

I don't think it influenced the game, but the referee should have started the match without them.

He hasn't wound me up today, my team wound me up!

We have to ask questions about ourselves after this performance,

There are still some details that have to be sorted out with Coventry and it would only be a one-month loan. There's a good chance it will happen.

Jonathan's been in the squad before when Steve McLaren had him,

It is a good away point for us with a clean sheet. We had the better of the half chances but you have to score a goal at home to take the points and we haven't done that.

I thought we outplayed Norwich, played some terrific football and created a lot of chances -- but didn't take them,

It had crossed my mind for a second to take him off, ... He had a long, hard summer, he didn't get much of a break and hasn't been at his sharpest. But you also know he's always liable to do something like that.

I think the records prove that it is 32 years since we last beat Arsenal at home,

Paul was part of our game plan and he was probably our best player today. We switched off as soon as he went off. Just before that I could tell that Rooney was getting frustrated because Paul was getting to him.

Paul Robinson's been terrific, he's just signed a new contract as well so he's on a high and he's kept all the boys on a high because of getting that goal,

We have still got a couple of things to iron out regarding personal terms. But we are hopeful that Ugo will be an Albion player very soon.

We have to make sure we win our last two games and hope the other games go for us on Saturday.

We didn't compete and we didn't pass the ball. I could have taken all 11 off at halftime.

We want to keep bringing really good young players into this club and Curtis is one of the most outstanding young centre halves I've seen for some time. Hopefully, he will go and prove me right.

We'll see how the injury settles down, but it looks like a strained hamstring so he could be missing for a few games.

When you have got a bench like that you know you have got a lot of pace and a lot of goals, so when they start getting sharper and match-fit we will have a bigger goal threat this year,

We will have a look again at Zoltan over the weekend but he could be involved in the squad for Monday, which would be good news.

What was in the national papers was nonsense, ... At this moment in time we have big games coming up over the next month and I'm happy with my squad.

We showed signs of what we were good at last year and, by not getting beat, hopefully we may have turned the corner.

You get a wee bit hardened to it. But obviously you would rather have praise than the other stuff. Everyone, we should all remember, is human.

At some stage I'll maybe have to do something about it because it is very difficult to keep six players happy,

Coventry have made an enquiry about him because of all the midfield players I've got,

Every time we had free-kicks the lads said they had to wait for the whistle but, when Gareth Barry asked to take it quickly, he could, so there seemed to be one rule for one team and one rule for the other.

I spoke to the chairman before the Reading game and we were very close to signing Ugo. I had to leave it in the hands of our administration because of the game so I don't know anymore at the moment.

The way he's done his job is very good. This is the reward for that and I'm delighted he's signed.

The spirit of the lads was terrific. It was a great goal from Martin and Tomasz has been playing terrifically well recently. It was a terrific battling performance.

The team shouldn't miss one player. Kieran Richardson was a great influence on us because he had a lot of pace and was an aggressive lad, ... But I should be able to find one player in my squad who can match his qualities even if maybe they are not as good.

I've always thought Geoff was a hard worker, someone who makes it difficult for defenders because of his physical presence. But he has got other strings to his bow. His actual link-up play is very good. He sees midfield runners coming up to join him and he has got a nice touch on the ball where he brings people into the game.

A draw wouldn't be a disaster for us but no way would I ever send my team out to draw a game.

No (will not be watching Soccer Saturday) that's agony. When the lads go to the monitors and say 'oh there's been a chance just gone' or if I listen to a match on the radio all you are doing is burning up nervous energy for me and I won't be in that frame of mind.

That's why it's best for him to go out on a month's loan and play first-team football. I can gauge where his fitness is while he's playing for Forest.

Zoltan is still nowhere ready to train, he's had an injection in his groin and we hope it will settle down towards the weekend. At this moment he is very doubtful for Saturday's game.

The way the other results have gone has more or less put us down. Mathematically it is still possible for us to stay up and as far as I'm concerned we will prepare well for the game against West Ham on Monday.

Almeyda is a player I thought would have done a good job for us. But he has decided to stay in Argentina because of family problems and we have to respect his decision and move on.

There will be changes this week because of the amount of games.

There were so many stars in that dressing room that you would need to refill your pen to write them all down.

There's been no movement on Andy and it looks like he'll be staying as part of the club now.

It's a nice boost to be off the bottom of the table. We know there is still a hard fight ahead of us but this one gives us a little bit of encouragement.

It's very disappointing news because everything was agreed,

It's not over though, there are still a lot of points to play for.

The big concern for me is that we are conceding too many goals, and you cannot afford to do that at this level. It is about two a game.

The bell had gone ages ago and our players had gone out to get on with the game. For whatever reason Chelsea came out late. Whether they believe it takes the sting out of the game or drops the tempo, I don't know, but it annoyed me as my players wanted to get on with the second half.

I've got to be fair to Tomasz. Chris will be concerned, but I'll speak to him in the coming weeks.

I've got a couple of options at left-back.

That's a good result for us. We got a few breaks today which we deserved for our second-half performance.

The lads have kidded me because in the first two games we started the way we finished last season, but the last three matches are just not acceptable as far as our defensive play is concerned,

I'm not going to make excuses. Reading did well and I think they'll make it to the Premiership, and we had injuries, but the players I had on the pitch should have done better after going two up. Our only consolation is that nothing will now get in the way of our attempt at Premiership safety.

In the end, a small section of the crowd, maybe 2,000 to 3,000, turned against me. And that was it. Inside the club they know your best intentions, but the minority shout louder than the rest.

I'll make changes but that doesn't mean I'm underestimating Bradford or dismissing the competition.

But he has to do it week in, week out and not just against the big teams. He has to raise his game against everyone.

But I'll probably only look at that in January. It'd have to be a permanent situation if I make any decision.

Geoff works hard, looks very sharp and he has scored some important goals for us,

Geoff deserved a new contract. He works hard, looks very sharp and has scored some very important goals. I'm delighted he has signed for another two years.

Geoff deserved a new contract and this will take him up to the age of 33. The way he has gone about his job since I've been here has been very good.

He's one of the best midfield players in the world, if not the best. He's good in the air, he can pass a ball 60 yards or five yards, he's got great pace, good stamina, he's strong, he can tackle. That's what a great midfield player is all about.

A great goal from Martin, and Tomasz has been playing terrific. He had a couple of fantastic saves.

The Gods were looking down on us - now I'm off to have a few glasses of water to celebrate! And the car is safely docked.