Liam Fox readily admits that he aspires to a career in management — but the young coach insists he is “relaxed” regarding whether that opportunity arises at Dundee United.
Fox, 38, has proved a steady hand on the tiller as interim head coach following the departure of Jack Ross last Tuesday.
He guided the Tangerines to the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup with a fine 2-1 win at Livingston, before masterminding the Terrors’ maiden domestic clean sheet of the campaign in a 0-0 draw at Motherwell.
Given his two fixtures at the helm, it is little surprise to see that Fox is the current bookies’ favourite for the vacancy.
Asked whether he would be open to succeeding Ross in the long-term, Fox said: “That is one of those hypothetical questions; until somebody actually asks the question, then you can’t be sure.
“Ultimately, my long-term goal is to be a manager somewhere, at some point.
“But I am in no rush to do that. A lot of things need to align for these things to happen.
“I enjoy being on the grass and I enjoy coaching. So it’s a long-term goal — but not something I am transfixed by right now.
“I’m a Dundee United employee unless told otherwise and I think I’ve had a reasonable response from the players in this short period of time.”
Relaxed
Fox has described his dialogue with sporting director Tony Asghar as “open and honest”.
In the meantime, he will be charged with readying United for the visit of Hibernian on Saturday.
A step in the right direction
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“There’s been no update on the managerial front so I’m still preparing the team,” continued Fox.
“The dialogue has been open and honest, throughout.
“I had a good chat with Tony (Asghar) on Sunday. They (United hierarchy) are obviously going through their own processes this week.
“I’ve not heard any names mentioned or any individuals mentioned, but I’ll be doing the job until I’m told one way or another.
“I don’t know whether that’ll change before the weekend and, honestly, I’m pretty relaxed about the situation.”
Experience
With former coach Adam Asghar having now left the club, Fox was aided during Tuesday’s training session by former United hero Dave Bowman; head of player development at Tannadice.
“It was great that Bow could come up and help us during this period,” continued Fox. “He’s been in the dugout for the Livingston and Motherwell games as well and it’s great having his experience around myself.
“It’s the same with Hinchy (goalkeeping coach, Craig Hinchliffe) — the players like them and they have something about them.”
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