Why I would run through brick walls for Neil Warnock

By Matt Lawrence

Published 13:05 11/01/12

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Matt Lawrence has played for seven league clubs - including Fulham, Crystal Palace, Millwall and now Gillingham.  During his time at Palace he played under Neil Warnock, who was dismissed as QPR boss this week.  Here's Matt's take on his former manager.

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I can honestly say that I’ve never experienced working with a manager I’d rather play for.

I’m the type of player who’d run through a brick wall for any manager, but for Neil I’d run through one after another - and to be honest, I have no idea why. I’ve spent years trying to work it out.

If you could bottle Neil’s magic formula the LMA would be handing it out at their conferences.

In my time at Crystal Palace, working with Neil Warnock, my career seemed to have hit the skids.

I can remember it as vividly as if it were yesterday.

Neil pulled me into his office and told me that I would never play for the club again.

Now, when you hear words like that, you tend to take an instant dislike to the manager and assume he obviously doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Neil managed to say those words and still come up smelling of roses.

He still treated me incredibly well and as long as I showed him the utmost respect, he returned it.

I was still allowed to train with the first team and I was allowed to pick and choose if I played in reserve games with no fear of retribution. If I felt I would gain more from an intensive training session than a “meaningless” reserve game then I was allowed to choose that.

And, then, when I was eventually required to play for the first team again, not only was I physically ready, I was, more importantly, mentally ready.

And, thus, the brick walls once again took a battering.

When I see how Neil has been treated at QPR, I can’t help but think back to those experiences, and think that he probably has a dressing room full of people willing to pull them away from the relegation zone.

And, along with a decent cash injection this January, he would have completed a fantastic turnaround from the state of the QPR team that he took over.

One thing I am certain of is, though, is that Neil will not be crying over spilt milk.

A man of such positivity as he is, I’m sure, he’s already seeking out the next club that he can lead to promotion.

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Matt Lawrence's diary, "20,000 Leagues Under The Premier",  appears on MirrorFootball every Monday.

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