Graham Turner's FA Cup warning to Wolves boss
Wolves manager Stale Solbakken was today warned he must continue to be his own man if he is to succeed at Molineux.
The under-pressure manager takes his faltering side to non-league outfit Luton tomorrow knowing the calls for his sacking will intensify if he fails to negotiate the FA Cup third round potential banana skin at Kenilworth Road.
Graham Turner was the last man to take Wolves to non-league opposition in the cup and suffered the humiliation of losing 3-0 to Chorley in November 1986 in a first round, second replay defeat which was the lowest point in the club's history.
Solbakken finds himself again at the centre of allegations of unrest in the camp, after three calamitous defeats that have seen some fans demanding his head.
Turner, now in his second spell in charge of League One Shrewsbury, believes Solbakken can survive – just like the 65-year-old did after Chorley – but insists he must not be swayed by players challenging him.
Turner said: "He has managed in several countries but this is a testing time and the one thing he needs to do is hold the dressing room together.
"If there's unrest, he has to keep the players onside because if he doesn't, it looks pretty bleak. If he does, then he can still turn this season into something respectable.
"It's down to the character of the manager to make sure everyone is pulling in the same direction.
"There's only one man who can set down formation of the team and a philosophy for training and playing, and that's got to be the manager.
"He can't start changing things at the whim of the players."
Turner believes the players need to take more responsibility for their performances.
He said: "When the crowd is chanting 'you're not fit to wear the shirt,' players might have been up against it against better teams such as Crystal Palace.
"But now they are facing a Conference side and this is where they have to come to the fore and show they have the character to play for Wolves.
"Players sometimes get away with too much, when they need to take more responsibility for what they're doing.
"Player for player, that Wolves team should not lose at Luton."
