Holloway Speaks (and Mentions QPR!)

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Holloway Flattered By Leicester

New Leicester manager Ian Holloway admitted leaving Plymouth to take over at their Coca-Cola Championship rivals was "the biggest decision of my life".
Holloway tonight signed a three-and-a-half year deal to become the sixth manager at the Walkers Stadium since April but insisted that it was an opportunity that he could not refuse.

He said: "It was the biggest decision of my life to leave Plymouth. People know how I felt about the place and that hasn't changed.

"I bought a house down there which I only moved into two weeks ago but all of a sudden things happened which changed the way I was thinking.

"I felt that I had to take this opportunity because I felt like I was getting stereotyped as a trouble shooter.

"At Bristol Rovers I sold my best players, I had QPR when they were in administration and we did quite well - until I lost my job for going to an interview which I was told to attend.

"I ended up at Plymouth where everything felt right. I was on gardening leave and could have done some TV work for two years but it felt right and it all went very well."But it's nice and flattering when the team you are trying to build gets you some recognition because it felt like I was never going to get it."

Holloway will be handed a stern test of his managerial capabilities at the Foxes, who lie in 17th place in the Championship table ahead of Saturday's testing trip to face Bristol City.

But the former Bristol Rovers player and manager believes that the greater financial clout provided by Leicester chairman Milan Mandaric will allow him to build a team without the fear of losing his best players.

He said: "I lost a player last year who let his contract run out and got a much better deal.

"That's life, it wasn't Plymouth's fault, but again this year I had 12 or 13 who were out of contract.

"We were looking at how much they want and it was very difficult because our gates had gone down to 11,000 and we were seventh in the table.

"That was very disappointing and it meant I couldn't turn this opportunity down."

Mandaric has made Holloway his third permanent manager of the season but, after the short-lived reigns of Martin Allen and Gary Megson, he is confident that he has at last found the right man to take the club back into the top flight.

Mandaric was furious when Megson chose to walk out on the club to join Premier League strugglers Bolton but insists that Holloway is the man to bring stability to the chaotic club.

He said: "I forget negative things very quickly.

"Forget about Gary Megson and what happened here, I am looking at positive things to take the club forward.

"We need stability and togetherness and I believe that we have it now.

"I hope this is third time lucky. Sometimes you don't make the right decision but I have not had a bad manager here they just didn't fit." Press Association http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/65624,holloway-flattered-by-leicester.aspx