Tom Hounsell Maintains Focus as Wycombe Wanderers Interim Coach

Tom Hounsell is in no rush to make this his job for good. The wins keep coming, the table looks healthier by the week, but the interim Wycombe Wanderers head coach is steering clear of any talk about permanence.

Since stepping in after Michael Duff’s sacking earlier this month, the 30-year-old has stitched together a perfect record: three games, three victories. It began with a wild 3-2 triumph away at Leyton Orient in his first match in charge, a result that jolted life into a side marooned near the foot of League One.

The response did not stop there. Wycombe then saw off Chelsea Under-21s in the EFL Trophy, before backing it up with a league win over Wigan on Saturday. From second-bottom to 14th in the space of a few weeks, the turnaround has been sharp and emphatic.

You would not know it from listening to Hounsell.

“I've said it before. My thoughts are never on myself, it's about the group of players,” he told BBC Three Counties Radio, batting away any suggestion that he is campaigning for the role. “I'm employed by this football club, ultimately, to help us get wins. That's my commitment and it's a commitment from the whole staff.”

This is only his second taste of the hot seat. His previous managerial experience came at Burton Albion, where he handled a 12-match interim spell in 2024 before Gary Bowyer was appointed. That brief audition has now been followed by another, this time in a club fighting to haul itself away from early-season trouble.

The pressure has not altered his message.

“I'm pleased with the work we're doing, pleased with the momentum we're taking, pleased with the week that we've had,” he said. “But I haven't thought more about it than that.”

For Hounsell, the job – whether temporary or not – carries a weight he is careful to underline.

“Whoever is manager of this football club is in an incredibly blessed position. It's an incredibly privileged role to have,” he added. “Whatever happens with the manager's post, that individual will be extremely lucky to work with this group of players and the structure and processes that exist behind the scenes.”

The results are starting to speak loudly for him. For now, he is determined to let them do all the talking.