"I’ll need to identify targets early," he said. "Good players get snapped up quickly."
"David can help with that," Markus replied. "He has contacts at other academies."
David pushed his glasses up. "I keep a database of promising players. Updated weekly."
"Perfect." Maddox closed his notebook. "I think that covers everything for now."
Everyone stood up. The eting had lasted ninety minutes. Maddox felt more confident about his staff and the club’s direction.
"Lunch is in fifteen minutes," Sophia said.
"Good. We should get sothing to eat."
The staff filed out of the conference room. Maddox stayed behind for a mont, collecting his thoughts. The transfer budget was tight, but not impossible. He’d worked with nothing before.
His phone buzzed. A text from Elira.
"How’s the first day going? You’ve got this! Love you."
Maddox smiled and typed back: "Going well. Staff eting done. About to et the players properly."
"Exciting! Tell everything tonight."
He put his phone away and headed downstairs. The cafeteria was almost empty due to the players on resting break.
Maddox grabbed a tray. The servings were simple foods—grilled chicken, rice, vegetables. Nothing fancy, but nutritious.
After lunch, Maddox had thirty minutes before the press conference. He walked around the training complex, getting familiar with the layout. The gym was well-equipped. The dical room was modern.
Sophia found him by the trophy cabinet. "Ready for the dia circus?"
"As ready as I’ll ever be."
"They’ll ask about your plans, your expectations, Sunday’s match. Standard stuff."
"Any hostile journalists?"
"Martin Cross from the Evening Standard can be tricky. He likes stirring up controversy."
Maddox made a ntal note. "Thanks for the warning."
They walked to the dia room together. It was smaller than he expected. About twenty chairs faced a simple table with microphones. The Rising Stars logo hung on the wall behind.
Journalists were already filing in. So he recognized from TV, others were new faces. Caras were being set up. Recorders placed on the table.
Markus Webb entered with a woman in a business suit. She had sharp eyes and carried herself like soone used to controlling situations.
"Maddox, et Linda Hayes, our communications director," Markus said. "She’ll handle the dia side of things."
Linda shook his hand firmly. "Keep your answers short and positive. Don’t give them anything they can twist."
"Understood."
"And smile. The caras pick up everything."
Maddox nodded. He’d done press conferences before, so he was familiar with the processes.
"Five minutes," Linda announced to the room.
The journalists settled into their seats. Maddox took his place at the table. The microphones looked bigger up close. Cara lenses pointed at him like black eyes.
"Good afternoon, everyone," Linda began. "Thank you for coming. I’ll now hand over to our new coach, Eric Maddox."
Maddox leaned forward. "Thank you, Linda. I’m excited to be here at Northcastle Rising Stars."
Hands shot up imdiately. Linda pointed to a woman in the front row.
[> Sarah Jenkins, Sky Sports. What attracted you to this job? Tom Bradley, EDC. You’re taking over late-season. Isn’t that a big risk? Alex Wright, The Guardian. What’s your tactical philosophy? You left Silvergate United under controversial circumstances, How do we know you won’t do the sa here? But the assault allegations on the assistant coach— What’s your target for this season? That’s very ambitious. What happens if you lose on Sunday? But if you do?
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