Lee Bradbury is hoping to get the Bournemouth role permanently after calling time on his playing career.
Veteran striker calls time on playing career to focus on management
Bournemouth's caretaker manager Lee Bradbury is hoping to get the role on a permanent basis after calling time on his playing career.
The 35-year-old scored 105 goals in 572 appearances during a career which saw him play for the likes of Manchester City, Portsmouth and Crystal Palace, but opted to hang up his boots to replace Eddie Howe in the Dean Court hot-seat.
Bradbury's managerial career has got off to a great start, with four points from two games, including Saturday's 1-0 win over table toppers Brighton and he is eager to prove his worth and grasp the opportunity given to him.
"I wouldn't have gone for the job if I didn't want to do it permanently and it wasn't an easy decision for me to stop playing because I felt that I still had a good couple of years left in me," Bradbury told
skysports.com.
Busy
"The opportunity was too good to pass by, so I decided to give it a go and thankfully we have done okay so far.
"I'm really enjoying it, but at the same time I didn't expect to be so busy, as there is so much to do.
"You don't realise as a player how much needs to be done behind the scenes and that is obviously new to me.
"It is a task that both me and Steve Fletcher, who is also new to management, are enjoying and whilst you are winning things go pretty smoothly."
Many have been tempted to combine their playing duties with the responsibility of management, but Bradbury insists that was never an option for him.
He added: "I don't think that you can play and manage at the same time any more because it is one of those roles that you need to give 100% to and throw everything into it.
"Steve is still playing as well, so one of us had to hang up our boots because otherwise we might both end up on the pitch at the same time.
"Fletch was determined to carry on playing and I didn't mind taking a backwards step and running things from the sidelines."
