Wycombe Wanderers head coach Mike Dodds has said it would be ‘poor’ of him to implement his style of play on the team with 17 league games of the season remaining.
The 38-year-old, who was appointed as the Chairboys’ new man in charge following Matt Bloomfield’s exit last month, joins the Adams Park side on a three-year deal from Sunderland.
He comes with Wanderers sitting second in the League One table, four points clear of third place Wrexham.
Wycombe have been in the hunt for promotion to the Championship since September and hasn’t dropped out of the top two since October.
Speaking on his move to South Buckinghamshire, Dodds, who will take charge of his first game this weekend against Preston North End in the FA Cup, said: “They made contact with Sunderland around 10 days/two weeks ago and I was opened-minded by it.
“What became very apparent during our meetings and conversations was that we were incredibly aligned, and I am very impressed by the ownership group.
“I am impressed by their vision and the direction they want to take the club and I have always said at one point in my career, I wanted to be a head coach.
“Did I think it would happen this quickly? Probably not if I am totally honest but sometimes you can get an opportunity that is too good to turn down.
“When I looked at the dressing room when I spoke to people in football and said, ‘What’s this player like?’ or ‘How is the character of this person?’ every character reference I got was immaculate.”
Despite being named as Wanderers’ new head coach on February 2, he remained with Sunderland for the away league match to Middlesbrough one day later.
When asked about the unique situation of remaining with the Black Cats despite starting a new job with Wanderers days later, he explained: “Sunderland were very keen for me to be involved in the game on Monday as it was a huge game with it being a local derby, and it was a top six clash.
“I also have a strong relationship with the ownership group there along with the fans and the players, so I didn’t want to leave them in the lurch as I thought that was the professional thing to do.
“But I also had one eye on where my future would be so it was a difficult 24/48 hours when you have a foot in both camps.
“I must also say Sunderland handled the exit with complete class and Wycombe’s professionalism around it was incredible.
“The exit from one job and entry to the next was unique and was done with class on both sides.”
Finally, on the rest of the season, he concluded: “In the short term, my role for the last 16 games is to try and direct the team and stay on the current path we are on.
“It would be poor coaching from my end to come in and try and change things with my own style.
“There’s no need for wholesale changes.”
His first game in charge will be against Preston away in the FA Cup this weekend, his first league fixture will be against Crawley Town one week later, whilst his first home bout will be versus Bristol Rovers on February 18.
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