Jens Berthel Askou relishing return to management with Motherwell
Jens Berthel Askou is relishing the opportunity to return to front-line management at Motherwell buoyed by the insight into the big time he gained in his past season as an assistant.
The 42-year-old Dane was a head coach with clubs in his homeland, Faroe Islands and Sweden until leaving IFK Goteborg last summer to become number two with Champions League contestants Sparta Prague. He then took on a similar role with Danish title winners Copenhagen from January until the end of the season.
Facing the media at Fir Park on Wednesday for the first time since his appointment by Well earlier this month, Askou said he opted to return to management "because it's what I feel I'm the best at and what I thrive the most with".
"My career has taken me different places, some of them unplanned, but that's how football is sometimes," he said of his recent escapades.
"A year ago I had an opportunity to go to a very big club (Sparta) at an early stage in my career and see if I could get a taste of Champions League, which we did.
"And then after that it brought me to Copenhagen, which is the biggest club in Denmark, and with an opportunity to win something in my home country.
"It was a special experience winning the double and getting some inside experience from big organisations, top-performing at European and international level, which was a great experience for me that I could use in my next step as a manager somewhere.
"Even though this is a club with a little fewer resources than the last two clubs I've been in, there's a lot of things and ideas and structure from the bigger organisations I've been in that we can use going forward."
Askou's move to the William Hill Premiership pits him against two familiar faces in Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin, an old adversary from his time in Sweden, and new Rangers manager Russell Martin, with whom he played at Norwich some 15 years ago.
"I haven't spoken to Jimmy yet, but we had a very good relationship when I was in Sweden, very, very good guy, and a very good and successful coach in Sweden," said Askou.
"And obviously Russ, who was a great team-mate back in the days in Norwich, has done fantastic with his career, and I've had contact with him over the years. It's going to be great to see both of them."
Askou - working to bring in a new assistant after it was announced on Wednesday that previous incumbent Ahmet Koc has left the club - admits he has "a big job to do with building the squad" in time for the new season.
The new boss was unwilling to go into detail on the future of Lennon Miller, the 18-year-old midfielder who recently made his Scotland debut and has been heavily touted for a move away this summer.
"He's a big profile for Scottish football, and for sure he's going to face a fantastic international career, and then we'll see over time if it's going to be this summer that he will take the next step," said Askou.
"I know the rumours, I know there was a lot of discussion and expectations, which he has created by performing really well.
"I haven't met him yet because he's got a few extra days off because he's been with the national team, so I think it would be fair for me to meet him first and have some good discussions with him before I answer any specific questions about his future."
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