NEW FACES: OLE'S BACKROOM TEAM
Introducing Mark Dempsey, Richard Hartis, Danny Keough, René Skovdahl & John Vik
A flurry of new faces donned their Cardiff City training kit for the very first time earlier this month, as they joined the new Boss on the training pitch and at the Vale Pavilion.
Two of those were, of course, new midfield maestros Magnus Wolff Eikrem and Mats Møller Dæhli, but Ole also took time out recently to give us a brief introduction to each of the new members of his back-room team who will contribute to the successes we will strive to achieve both on and off the field.
In addition, you can read up on every member of football managment ahead of our upcoming visit to Manchester City under the First Team Management section of this web site - CLICK HERE
"A Positive and Driven Group..."
“It’s crucial to the success of a Football Club that you have the right people behind the scenes to assist and develop your players,” said Ole, exclusively to cardiffcityfc.co.uk.
“The new staff I’ve brought in to compliment and join those already in place are fantastically hard-working and committed men who are also good and honest people away from the training pitch.
"We are a positive and driven group who are determined to get the best out of this squad of players.”
JOINING OLE's BACKROOM TEAM - IN THE MANAGER'S WORDS
MARK DEMPSEY – ASSISTANT MANAGER
“Mark is my Assistant Manager here at Cardiff City. We met at Manchester United during the time that Mark was working with the Club’s Under 16s. We became close friends during that time and I very often went to watch his sessions towards the latter part of my playing career as I began to think about taking steps into coaching. Mark eventually left Old Trafford and by coincidence, headed to Norway where he went to work with the first-team at Tromsø IL. Then, when I ended my time as United Reserve Team Manager and took the job at Molde FK, Mark was my first call. I was very pleased that he decided to join me at that time and we went on to enjoy three very successful years in the Tippeligaen. We know each other very well and how we both like to work. If I’m half-way through a sentence he will very often finish it for me and vice-versa, so we know exactly where each other are coming from!”
RICHARD HARTIS – GOALKEEPING COACH/ FIRST TEAM COACH
“Rich, like Mark, came to Cardiff with me on day one. Rich has a great eye for detail and is the Club’s new Goalkeeping Coach as well as First-Team coach. He is another who has worked at the very highest level with Manchester United, helping to coach Edwin van der Sar and some of the other top goalkeepers who have been at Manchester United during the past decade or so. We have a fantastic working relationship and he is another person who I have a lot of trust in. On and off the training pitch, Rich is someone who will take us forward again.”
DANNY KEOUGH – FIRST TEAM COACH
“Danny is another excellent coach who spent a long time working at Manchester United. He and Mark [Dempsey] grew up together and worked closely with each other at Old Trafford, so there’s a very strong working connection between the two of them which is very important. I know Danny very well also, so he’s another who’s come in to Cardiff City with us to help us develop the philosophy and style of play that we want to establish.”
RENÉ SKOVDAHL – HEAD OF CONDITIONING
“René has come in to oversee our fitness and conditioning at the Club. Not many will be aware that René is the cousin of Michael and Brian Laudrup, having grown up with them as a youngster in Denmark and then gone on to forge his own career in the game. We spent two years working together at Molde FK and I know what a fantastic addition he is to our back-room team.”
JOHN VIK – CHIEF SCOUT
“Jon has an excellent knowledge of the game with a great eye for talent and is somebody I worked closely with during my time in Norway with Molde. He knows exactly what I look for and expect from a player and the sort of style of player that I like to have in my squad. We’ve worked together for the past two years with success, while we’ve known each other for a long time.”
LEAVING WITH THANKS...
have now moved on to pastures new, with our very best wishes and thanks for their hard work and dedication.Martyn Pert and Richard CollingeDavid Kerslake, Joe McBride, Jim Hollman,Cardiff City Football Club said goodbye to a number of our coaches earlier this month following a fantastic and historic spell of success and development.
