Hendrick: Robbie Savage at Wrexham Could Be a Little Fairytale Story

Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , former Ireland star Jeff Hendrick has assessed the managerial merry-go-round across the lower leagues and beyond.

Hendrick has backed Robbie Savage to thrive at Peterborough and floated him as a potential future boss of his boyhood club Wrexham , even raising the prospect of the Wales job down the line.

The former midfielder has also assessed the pressure on Phil Parkinson at Wrexham , the dire form at Burnley , and why Craig Bellamy 's name keeps coming up at Turf Moor .

Robbie Savage

Is Savage at Peterborough a Risk or an Exciting Arrival?

What he'd done at Macclesfield , then at Forest Green , he had them in a good position. I know Robbie ; he was the captain of Derby when I came over as a young kid. He's bubbly, he's energetic, he's loud, he knows football, and he had a great career. He sort of did it differently to what you'd imagine. He was a household name, Robbie Savage ; maybe the hair helped him stand out.

But he went down the leagues, and he's done well that way and is sort of now coming up the leagues. So it is maybe a punt because he hasn't managed in that league, but I think he'll be really good given his philosophy and the way he likes to play attacking football. He was the type of midfielder himself who was full of energy, but had really good technical ability. So I know he'll be looking for that in his players and the way he'll want Peterborough to play.

Would Savage Make Sense as a Future Wrexham Manager?

Robbie Savage managing Wrexham ? There's potential. I didn't actually know he was a Wrexham boy. With how that club has grown now, if he can continue to grow, there's a chance of sort of that little fairytale story, I suppose. I'm sure he'd love the press around it and everything; he's that type of character. But let's see how the next couple of years go. I can't see him doing it anytime soon, or Wrexham maybe taking him anytime soon with the potential of where they want to go, but never say never.

Could He Have the Wales Job in the Back of His Mind?

Robbie Savage is learning his way as a manager, and that will have to keep changing as he goes up the leagues. Because as you go up the leagues, the coaches and managers are more detailed; they've got different ways of playing, and they can flip in-game. I think if you are to become an international manager, you need to have a few different ways of playing, and you have to be used to that schedule where, even as we've seen now, it's a long break, and you don't have the players. It's a different type of management.

I think he could be that type of manager because of the character he is. I think international management is more about dealing with the players and making them comfortable, as you're not on the training pitch with them daily. I think he has that in him to manage Wales ; it's just that he has to grow in the role first.

Wrexham

Should Phil Parkinson Get More Leniency?

I think with what Phil Parkinson has done for the club, he'll have credit in the bank. How long that credit lasts, we don't know; managers come and go. They have been really loyal to him. They were unlucky last year, but the start they've made this year won't be good enough, and he'll know that himself. He knows he needs to turn things around. He'll be on borrowed time if it keeps going the way it is.

The owners want to be in the Premier League ; that's the target for them. They want to be in the play-offs minimum; they want to be giving the club every chance it has to go up. I think if they get to Christmas and they're still in the bottom half, unfortunately I can see that change happening. They need to be in the top half for the turn of Christmas so you can give yourself a chance to get a run of games and creep into the play-off spots.

Burnley

Are Burnley Alongside Leicester For the Worst Form in England?

It's been tough for them. They've already conceded more goals than in the year they went up under Kompany , and they haven't really got that right. They can't win games, they can't score goals, so it's looking really bad for them at the moment.

I noticed talk of Vardy coming in and whether he can boost them. I don't know if he can at 39. To be pinning your hopes on him, it's a big ask. I just think the club are in a bad situation, and they need to stop conceding goals, start getting ugly wins, a win no matter what, and then try to slowly get themselves out of trouble. It's crazy to say, just stay out of trouble, for how well that club has done over the last twelve years or so, but this is a tough time.

Can You Understand the Craig Bellamy Links?

I can see why Craig Bellamy would be very tempted by the Burnley job still. Obviously, he was a coach there under Kompany . He knows the club, he probably enjoyed it, and obviously when he was there it was good times. He knows how the place can be with the fans and the stadium. So I can see why he would have thought about the job. But then again, a Welsh boy managing his country- it's a hard one to go from that.

He probably thinks he has some unfinished business with Wales at the moment. Especially if you think about coming up to Euro 2028 , where it could be hosted in Ireland , Scotland , Wales , and England . The potential of being the manager of your country while being a co-host is something that you might not want to miss.

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