Knights want results rather than style

AUCKLAND - Grinding out results rather than turning on the style will the New Zealand Knights' priority in the inaugural A-League soccer competition, manager John Adshead said today.

The Knights began pre-season training this week for a competition that will kick off in late August.

Adshead described the up-coming season as "results oriented" for the club and said his players would try to accumulate points "any way we can get them at the beginning".

"All coaches say they'd love to go out there and play one touch and the beautiful game and all that," he said.

"I don't want to play the beautiful game and lose 3-0. I prefer that people, first up, don't look at the quality, just look at the result."

Adshead referred back to his and New Zealand soccer's greatest campaign, the 1982 World Cup, in summarising the type of players he had gathered together for his 20-strong squad.

During the group stages of that World Cup finals, the outgunned All Whites held Brazil, the ambassadors of "the beautiful game", to a 4-0 scoreline.

Adshead said he had always been the type of coach for whom a player's commitment and attitude were of prime importance.

"It was like taking New Zealand to play against Brazil," he said.

"If we stopped working for a second, if we stopped denying time and space and asking questions of highly, well-respected technical players, they would have beaten us by double figures.

"We have to produce that same workrate to produce results. That means commitment, that means attitude. Looking at these early days of training, I think that's what we got."

The Knights today announced the final two members of their squad -- English fullback Ronnie Bull and Australian midfielder Joshua Rose.

Both operate on the left side, an area Adshead had wanted to address.

Bull, 24, has played for Millwall and Grimbsby Town. Rose, 23, was formerly with Brisbane Strikers in the old Australian National Soccer League.

The Knights also named three of the four players for an apprenticeship scheme in association with the Charlton Knights Youth Academy.

They are All White Jeremy Christie and New Zealand age group representatives Sam Jasper and Kris Bright.

The apprenticeship players will be employed by the Knights and will train with the A-League squad, but be released each week to take part in domestic competition.

Apart from player development, Adshead said the scheme also meant that he would have ready-made options in case of injury.

Under league rules, there is provision for clubs to bring in a replacement for a squad member who is sidelined for four weeks.

The youth academy is a result of the deal the Knights signed with English premier league club Charlton Athletic earlier this month.

Under the four-year deal, Charlton will have a major role in developing young New Zealand talent. In return, the London-based club will have first refusal on the Knights' more established players.

- NZPA