According to Wrexham president Dixie McNeill, Dean Keates rejected the chance to manage Walsall on three occasions before taking over the role.
McNeil said Keates will have felt pestered when he did finally agree to take over the Saddlers and the lure of his hometown club was too hard to turn down, but he’s hopeful Keates has learned from “his mistake”.
McNeill told Leader Live
“He turned down Walsall three times in that period and said he didn’t want to go, but in the end he was probably pestered too much and with it being his home town, I think he found it difficult to say no. He probably learned from the mistake.”
Keates became manager of struggling Wrexham yesterday and faced his first press conference this morning where he spoke about those comments from McNeill.
Keates told Leader Live
“The only thing I can say, that if it wasn’t my hometown club, if it was a club of a similar stature, I probably wouldn’t have gone“
“The fact that it was my hometown club, I stood on the terraces, I played there numerous times and achieved things, it was very much a choice I made with heart and head over possibly gut feeling.”
“And as stated, the first approach I did turn it down.”
Keates will take control of Wrexham’s game with Harrogate tomorrow evening.
