2:02pm Tuesday 24th April 2007
By Tony Flood
Brentford, criticised for the appointment of their last two managers, have made a popular choice by turning to former England captain Terry Butcher to take on one of the toughest tasks in football by helping them bounce back into League One at the first attempt.
His appointment takes effect from Monday, May 7 - two days after the final game of the season at Tranmere - and in the meantime Butcher is arranging to bring in an assistant manager with experience in the lower leagues.
In the interim youth boss Barry Quin, who has been caretaker boss since the sacking of Scott Fitzgerald, will continue to take charge of the first team, but Butcher will be at Griffin Park on Saturday to watch Brentford play their final home game of the season against Port Vale (3pm).
The 49-year-old Butcher said: "I'm thrilled and delighted to be at Brentford. I was very impressed by the board and the chairman, and the plans they have for the future of the club.
"I'm aware of everybody's desire to bounce back into League One and I want to start that process as soon as possible. I'm really looking forward to the challenge."
The decision to appoint the former Coventry City and Sunderland player-manager was unanimous among Bees directors. Chairman Greg Dyke said: "We are delighted with the appointment. Terry's record as a player is second to none and stands as an inspiration to others. We were particularly impressed by his four-year record at Motherwell where, under his leadership and guidance as manager, the club competed well above expectations.
"With that experience under his belt, we believe that Terry is the right person to lead the Brentford fightback".
Yet Brentford's first choice appeared to be their former manager Micky Adams, another ex-Coventry boss. But it is understood that Adams wanted a bigger financial package than the Bees could afford.
Asked about Adams, Dyke said: "Several names were discussed. We had lists for two categories - senior people who had done the job before and younger candidates who had no experience of Football League management. There were five main candidates on the senior list and eight on the other list.
"We had tried two relatively inexperienced managers in Leroy Rosenior and Scott Fitzgerald, but we have now appointed one of the biggest names in the game."
As a centre-half Butcher made his debut for Ipswich Town in 1978 and within two years he was selected for England, going on to make a total of 77 appearances for his country, including three World Cup campaigns and ultimately gaining the captaincy. He spent four years at Glasgow Rangers, joining then in 1986 and captaining them to three League titles and two cup successes, before becoming player/manager at Coventry City in 1990. After 15 months there he took a similar position at Sunderland.
Butcher then spent four years as manager of Motherwell before making a brief sortee to Australia to become head coach of Sydney FC last year. But he was sacked in February after just eight months, and on March 30 took the temporary position of assistant coach to Scottish League One side Partick Thistle, from where he joins Brentford.
The bloodied image of Butcher in the 1989 World Cup qualifier against Sweden made him a hero with England fans as his battling display enabled the draw required to qualify. Dyke said: "We are now hoping that Terry will become a cult hero at Griffin Park."
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