It stinks being underappreciated. So every now and then, it’s nice to hear your boss say, “Good job” or “I’ve got your back.”
That was what Knicks coach Mike Woodson got from owner James Dolan in an exclusive interview published in The Post on Friday. Dolan expressed his confidence in Woodson, stressing it will remain as long as the coach has the respect of the players. Dolan believes Woodson has just that.
So Woodson on Friday offered thanks, but stressed all the woes the Knicks are going through are “not about me.” They are about getting the Knicks on the path toward the lofty goals and expectations put in place before the season.
“It means a lot,” Woodson said after his Knicks practiced and scrimmaged to prepare for Saturday’s game at Washington. “But this is not about me. This is about our team digging ourselves out of the hole. Thank God that nobody’s running away with our division.”
Still, getting a public pat on the back from the boss and owner has to be nice, considering the “Fire Woodson” chants that have infiltrated Madison Square Garden and the 3-8 record polluting the standings.
“It’s great support, trust me when I say that,” Woodson said. “But again, I haven’t lived my dream as a coach worrying about the security of my job. Trust me when I tell you that
“It’s great that the owner has come out and given me a vote of confidence, that he believes in me, and I believe in him. It goes both ways. But at the end of the day, I got a job to do and that’s trying to get this team back headed in the right direction.”
Those “Fire Woodson” chants are not going to get Woodson off his game.
“I’ve been in this thing 30 years,” he said. “I’ve been playing basketball all my life. I’ve not always been the most liked guy when I played on teams. That’s just the nature of our sport. Does it bother me? Absolutely not. And I mean that when I say that. Fans and people are going to say and do what they need to do and say. I have no control over that.
“What I can control is how I approach my everyday life and how I come to work and try to prepare to get guys to do the right thing. Because at the end of the day, I’m for our players, and I know the players are for me.”
See? It is all about respect.
Dolan told The Post’s Mike Vaccaro, “I have a lot of confidence in Woodson and one thing I can say about Mike is he has the respect of the players. They all respect him. … When a coach loses a team, that’s when a coach is kind of done.”
Woodson values that respect.
“It’s very important, regardless if you’re playing well or not playing well,” Woodson said. “You’ve got to have the respect of your ball club. This is the first time we’ve faced some adversity since I’ve been here as the head coach. It might not be the last time.”
Woodson noted how last season everything went so well early and then the Knicks became a physical mess but managed to hang together. He is hoping the reverse holds true this time.
“That’s the roller coaster of being a coach. I feel good about what I do, and that’s not going to change. I just got to get guys to feel good about what they do and convert it into playing on the floor,” Woodson said.
Players again threw their support behind Woodson.
“Coach has done an excellent job,” said the injured Tyson Chandler, whose right leg fracture has done more to contribute to the Knicks’ slow start than anything Woodson ever did. “You can’t be so quick to jump off the boat. It’s early in the season.”
Metta World Peace suggested the team needs time to develop chemistry.
“Any new unit, it’s tough,” he said. “It’s been like that for years. You get a new group and guys don’t come together right away.”