Adams: Wenger couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag

Cape Town - Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams has criticised manager Arsene Wenger for not allowing him to return to the club in a coaching capacity.

Adams believes the French tactician is not a manager who gets his hands dirty on the training pitch and that he also surrounds himself with 'yes-men' instead of strong personalities who challenge him.

Adams, who won 10 major honours during a 19-year stay at the Gunners, wrote about Wenger in his autobiography Sober, which has been serialised in the Sun. He wrote: "Perhaps Arsene thought I might be too challenging for him.

"He seemed to like an assistant such as Pat Rice or Steve Bould, both great club men who were not going to ruffle feathers.

"Arsene is so dominant that he was probably not going to like it if I said, 'We're conceding bad goals, I'm going to take the back four today and organise them'.

"Because Arsene is essentially not a coach - and that is the second reason why I believe he didn't want me. Back in the day, I said in an interview coaching wasn't Arsene's strong point.

"Actually in the original draft, I said he couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag. And, though I modified that in the final article, it didn't go down well.

"It all left me feeling that I would never get a chance in any capacity while Arsene was there," he explained.

"Much as I respected him for his long and successful tenure, my occasional willingness to pass comment on him and the team probably counted against me."