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Football

12th Apr 2017

Two former Premier League stars are on trial with Tony Adams’ Granada

A one-time Manchester United winger and a former West Ham captain...

Robert Redmond

“I’m here to give the players a kick up the arse and win games.”

Tony Adams and his extraordinary suit have arrived in Spain, where the former Arsenal captain has been named interim manager at La Liga strugglers Granada.

Granada are in 19th place, seven points from safety and will need something miraculous to occur if they’re to stay up, starting with Adams’ first game in charge at home to Celta Vigo on Sunday night.

The 50-year-old’s last managerial role was with Azerbaijani club Gabala FC back in 2011, before that he managed Wycombe Wanderers and had a brief stint as Portsmouth boss in 2008.

His appointment at Granada until the end of the season raised eyebrows, but it’s not as surprising as it first seemed.

The former England captain is friends with the club’s Chinese owner, and vice-president of his DDMC Football Club Management Company.

Adams has promised to give his players a “kick up the arse”, and appears to have arrived in Spain from the English First Division circa 1987.

He’s a proper football man. Those Granada players better get ready for some proper football, and forget about that tiki-taka nonsense.

https://twitter.com/442weets/status/852136623055794177

This wasn’t the British invasion of Spain some Tories had in mind last week, but Adams is ready to show the continentals what the Brits are made of and has brought reinforcements.

The new Granada boss has Kieran Richardson and Nigel-Reo Coker on trial – there’s a sentence you weren’t expecting to read today.

Richardson has been without a club since leaving MLS franchise Montreal Impact at the end of December. The 32-year-old winger played for Manchester United between 2002 and 2007, and was part of the Aston Villa side relegated from the Premier League last season.

He also has eight caps for England.

Reo-Coker has been without a club since January 2016, when he left MLS franchise Montreal Impact.

The 32-year-old former West Ham captain last played in England back in 2013, when a short spell with Ipswich Town ended.

Hopefully, Adams’ eye for a player is better than his eye for a suit.