While the other kids were inside playing on their Atari's, I was out working hard and improving. While the other players were out in the clubs drinking and pulling women, I was in the gym working hard, getting better. While the other elite players of my age were getting lucrative contracts in the Middle East and America, I was studying the coaching badges and shadowing the top bosses in training.
I've played at the top level. I started out cleaning the boots of footballers who liked their juice a bit too much and I was glad for the experience. Starting out in that early 90's era of bearpits, crowd trouble and roughness gave me the steel I needed to succeed throughout my career. I was lucky in that I came through football at the right time. While it was still somewhat close to the fans but while I could set myself up for life, unlike most of my predecessors.
There's a sadness in seeing a player who just can't decide when enough is enough and it's time for the curtain call. Truthfully, I knew that missing out on that training ground banter and the routine of the day-to-day career of a footballer would be too much. So I knew I had to take my coaching badges and keep that going as long as possible. I still remember vividly the day I knew I had to retire. At 36 years of age, Roberto Di Matteo had decided my time at West Brom was up. After contributing to the promotion that would go on his CV, he discarded me just like that.
I always knew that the increasing amount of money coming into the game meant loyalty and nostalgia went out of the window with it but as it was happening to me personally, it hurt. I'd played 24 games that season. Scored twice. It counted for nothing. That evening though, I went home and sat looking obsessively at my Wikipedia page. The memories came flooding back.
Starting out cleaning the captain's boots at Leeds as a fresh faced 17 year old. Leaving for the bright lights of London after 4 years as only a bit-part player. Roma signing me from Spurs in 99. Playing with Totti and Cafu, winning Serie A. The month-long celebrations in the Eternal City. Free-spending Leeds bringing me back. Valencia signing me due to the financial troubles at Leeds. Winning La Liga in my sole season in Spain. Re-joining Rafa at Liverpool and THAT famous final against Milan. Collapsing to my knees due to the sheer elation. The despair when Rafa said I was moving to West Brom. The joy at going out on a high as the Baggies went up. Even the little matter of 42 caps for England.
I'd had a successful career, that can't be denied. Yet deep down, I knew I wasn't ready to be a player that's mentioned in the odd nostalgic conversations down the pub or as another failed member of the 'Golden Generation'. That next morning, I embarked on my first coaching course.
Life begins at 40 - so they say. I've finally completed my UEFA A Licence. 4 years of slog, hard work and many lonely nights of studying have all led to this. I passed with full marks which works incredibly well in my favour and will certainly stand me in good stead along with my playing experience.
I've met up with old friends on the courses. Enrico Chiesa, a stalwart of Fiorentina when we battled with them for the Serie A title in 2001, rolled back the years with me. I raved about his son Federico following in his footsteps whilst he said jokingly that he's got a long way to go yet to be at his level.Ian Harte, who I played with at Leeds; we talked for ages about the club and old times. Even a kick about with the fellow old pro's like Kluivert and Van Bommel was just great, thoughtless fun. Hard work but ultimately, incredibly enriching and worth it.
What next? Time to hound my agent to get me out there. I was happy to work in most countries, if truth be told. I'm fluent in Italian and Spanish due to my time there but have also picked up French and a bit of German. What am I looking for? I'm happy to start at the bottom if needed but I'm not prepared to drop to the jobs nobody wants – I've worked hard to get to where I want to and the job has to ultimately be the right one.
Within a week, the agency had been in touch and I'd been offered many interviews but a lot were below the level I was looking for; I opted to attend the ones at Sunderland and Estoril. Neither were particularly solid propositions for me. My contacts have told me Sunderland are loaded with debt, even after the cushion of parachute payments, and there's a lot of deadwood on long contracts there. It'd be good experience so I of course sold myself well but it's early days yet, so we'll see their response. Estoril looks an interesting project – lots of young, exciting attackers –and I feel like me and the President got on very well. Again, we'll see what happens there.
The agency have rang me to say they're getting early news of another position which would excite me greatly but that depends on what happens in the next few days with the current manager. Translated from footballer language: the manager will probably be getting the boot within the next few days, be prepared. Let's see what happens....
I sat in the Reception area. A text came through from the manager of the agency. “I don't need to wish you good luck – you're a success, a born winner, you have great pedigree and a great history. You'll nail this mate.” It raised a smile and gave me a chill up my spine; I would smash this interview.
After 5 minutes, I heard the lift coming down. 2 voices were talking, jovially, like they were best friends. I looked away, as if I wasn't looking to see who they were,then back as they passed me. The Chairman shook the hand of the other man and said he'd be in touch. As he walked back to the Receptionist,the other man looked back. Alan Pardew. I've only heard bad things about him but I can't judge him until I've met him myself; however,if that's the standard, I was encouraged about my chances.Eventually, the Chairman called me over. We got talking on our way up to his office and I kept the mood light but composed – nobody wants a comedian.
Finally, we reached his office. I met the Head of Youth Development, the Director of Football and the Under 23 and Under 18 managers. I'm a big believer in youth and pushing through the local lads so it was interesting to discuss my thoughts with them. The Director of Football seemed pretty short with me but I was aware this could be a good cop, bad cop routine. Frankly, I'm not keen on the Director of Football but I'm adaptive; I could work with it at the right club. I told them what a great club they were at. The interview went well and seemed to be over quicker than I thought. I actually enjoyed it!
The Chairman walked me back down to Reception and told me he'd be in touch. I said my goodbyes, thanked the Receptionist and upon exiting,turned back to see the Chairman shaking the hand of the next candidate and beginning the long walk up to his office. I wonder if the candidate thought as disapprovingly of me as I did of Pardew?
Home. What is home? As a footballer,you're never guaranteed of a home for life if you want it, like your average 9-5 worker is. You rarely get to spend a full week in the same place every evening. European nights, midweek fixtures, away games that take hours to travel to. It's hard to find a place to call home. Even if you do, you could find yourself moved on at the end of the season. One year London was home, then it was Rome, then Liverpool. It all changes so quickly.
Ultimately, the truth is that home is where the heart is. Although I'd played at 6 different clubs, there was one place my heart ached for throughout. One place my heart belonged. One place, above all, that I felt most compelled to call home. The one place I never sold my house in after moving. This was now the place where I'd landed the manager's job over Alan Pardew. The place I could wake up in every morning with a grin on my face,thanking my lucky stars that I was in the job here.
Sunderland had offered me the job but were expecting a play-off position whilst skirting around the budget for the task with such a below-par squad for that level;something didn't feel right there. Estoril turned me down, opting fora candidate more experienced in Portugal. That was fair and they were at least honest with me. However, even if both of the clubs had offered me a £200m transfer budget, a job for life and £1m a week in wages, they'd never top the offer I received from the club in the city I call home.
As soon as I heard that Garry Monk was leaving, I was straight in there. I pushed the agency to find out why Monk had left – the last thing the club needed was another cretinous owner – and they told me that Steve Gibson at Middlesbrough had offered him more money and a much larger transfer budget, due to the parachute payments after relegation from the Premier League. That's the loyalty of the modern game for you.
At one moment in the interview, Andrea stopped what he was saying and asked me what I was looking at. His office is situated in the huge East Stand. I was staring out of the windows looking at the pitch. Remembering that assist for Tony Yeboah on my debut against Ipswich in 95. The injury that Gary Pallister gave me. The last sight of it as I left for Spurs in 97. The return in 2001. My last minute winner against Arsenal in 2002. Saying goodbye again in 2003. Then looking around at the stands. The seats in the West, where my Dad took me to my first game in 1984 against Carlisle. Growing up on the South Stand and the skirmishes that came with it. The odd game in the Kop when there was something to play for(which back in those days following Leeds, was rare). Being a ballboy in front of what is now the East Stand but back then was the Lowfields.
Memories, I told Andrea. Memories. Aside from the nostalgia, I did ace it. We've got a lot in common. We understand the short-termism of recent owners culminating in a high turnover of managers. Watching teams that have come into this league after us and gone into the Premier League before us. Stability is key and has to be built. He understood I'm not quite the finished product but neither is the club. He knew that I got the club as a lifelong supporter and academy product. It was a blank canvas for both of us.Mistakes would almost certainly be made but as long as we both learnt from that, that's fine.
The £5m available for transfers was a good starting point and Andrea told me after the likes of Chris Wood, Rob Green and Charlie Taylor had left, amongst others, we had a monster £63,000 a week allocated towards wages. I wouldn't spend a penny until I'd assessed the players in the first week of training but in the meantime, I had a few areas of the squad that I knew we were weak in. It'd be a good chance for the younger players to make a case for themselves. First off though, the press conference.
The media these days are a **** of a lot worse than back in my era. Everything is over-analysed and pushed on so today's players give interviews that are incredibly club led,dry and devoid of personality. The top managers know how to use the media effectively and most importantly, think like the media. They're one step ahead.
When I was a player, I wasn't too concerned about the media. Back then we didn't have marketing gimmicks or a 'brand' to sell for personal gain, we were just footballers. I lost it with a few journalists, I made good friends with some of them but on the whole, what you saw is what you got. It was different now though.Every single word would be drawn on and it didn't just affect me, it would affect my players and the club's image.
I made a point of asking the Press Officer, Matt, for recent articles from each of the journalists attending. This way, when I met them, I could at least build up a rapport with them. They respect things like that and if I have the media on side, it helps a lot. That's the way of the modern game. I went around the room and shook the hands of journalists from the locals like the Yorkshire Evening Post and the Yorkshire Post as well as those from the nationals like the Telegraph and the Guardian. I sat alongside Andrea and the Managing Director, Angus Kinnear, and looking back, I think I handled it well.
Henry Winter, Telegraph: "It must be great to be back home. You hold so many memories here and it's a face the fans are glad to see here. However, how will you flush out the nostalgia to ensure your management is as efficient as possible?"
Henry is a good journalist. He knows this club very well and truly gets the magnitude of our potential. One of the finer writers out there.
"Well, that's a nice, easy question to start us off (laughter). It's my first foray into management so I'm ready to learn. That doesn't mean I'm naïve, though. I'm well aware of the motivations at different levels. I've done it on the pitch but truthfully, I've learnt more off of it. The fact I'm a fan turned youth product turned player does give me some experience of what is needed here – that's undeniable. Yet I always rule with my head over my heart. That's what this club needs and is crying out for– me and Andrea know that the club has been starved of stability for the last 13 years and now is the time for that."
HW: "So, does that mean you're someone who sits back and acts later or someone that's emotional and acts in the moment?"
"There's no black and white answer to that one. It all depends on the occasion. I'm pro-active, not reactive. I can be emotional and I can be distant. I'm not someone who'll throw their body about in the technical area nor am I a manager that stands staring into the distance looking as if they've got a grand master plan. Communication with my players is the key to success and that communication will always be positive. It doesn't mean I'm easy on the players; there's a standard they'll know they have to meet at all times – but the age of shouting and screaming at players, giving off negativity, is long gone. As a former player,I know how players think. That's the key to this all."
Phil Hay, Yorkshire Evening Post: "Andrea is viewed very positively by the fans. The previous ownerships have been tumultuous, to say the least, but Andrea has come in and done a lot of good work already. What's the plan between yourselves for the long-term future of this club?"
Phil is a writer for the local paper, the Yorkshire Evening Post. He's seen the good times and the bad and at one point, the local paper's writers were banned from the ground by Ken Bates for (rightly) criticising the club's ownership. The vast majority of fans both respect and admire him.
"The ultimate plan is to get Leeds back to the top of English football but to keep us there. That won't happen overnight and we're not prepared to throw hundreds of millions in one season at it to make that happen. We've got to create some stability here to ensure the club is self-sufficient and makes the best of it's facilities. At the same time, I do have sufficient financial backing here to build solid foundations for us to build on in future years."
PH: "A few of last season's key names have gone. Chris Wood and Charlie Taylor to Burnley, Kyle Bartley back to Swansea, Rob Green to Huddersfield. There's a rebuilding job there. Will you focus on one area in particular to improve the squad in?"
"Primarily, my focus is the defence this year. I'm confident we have talented players in the attack already but regardless, I want to build from the back so we have something to go on. I want to bring in players that will solidify their ability here and emulate it right up into the Premier League,players that will be here for the long term. I feel we're strong inmost positions but the defence is the certainly something I need to work on. Some critics and fans may look upon that with pessimism and expect a boring season however, I'll point to George Graham in 1996 and what that went on to build here. Defensive toughness and stability is the primary focus of the upcoming season – it's a long term job and I want to ensure our long term stability with that. This is simply the first step to that."
I was honest here. It'd be a pretty boring season. Build from the back, as the cliche goes. The ultimate goal of what I want us to play like will become evident over the next few seasons but the focus this season would be on defensive resilience. I want us to have a defence that will be here for years, understand each others game and form part of a side that can work it's way back to the top of English football.
Martin Samuel, Daily Mail: "Is there anyone in particular you're looking at to bring in?"
Martin Samuel is a highly acclaimed writer but I knew the point of the Daily Mail was to produce headlines, however controversial or non-controversial they may be. I'd keep a guard up, with that in mind.
"I'm not prepared to discuss rumours in the public spotlight. Judge us on our actions, not our words. It'd be foolish for me to go and reveal any slight indication of our transfer plans as even the tiniest of give aways could weaken our hand significantly. First and foremost I'll look to squeeze every last drop out of the current players until they can give no more and if I still think there's bits of the jigsaw missing, I'll go out and find them."
Martin Samuel, Daily Mail: "This is your first management job in the game – how do you earn the respect of your players amidst that inexperience?"
"I don't think a lack of experience is hugely important on the management side of things anymore. I've passed all but one of the coaching licenses in the game, most with top marks. As a former player, I understand their motivations and attitudes. I know this club inside out – what helps to succeed and what will make you fail. I've won a Champions League, La Liga, Serie A, the FA Cup and have played for my country plenty of times in a strong era for English players. I've played with some of the very best and learnt from some of the greatest managers around. I have a list of accolades as long as your arm. Most crucially, I'm honest,learn from my mistakes and I'm a meticulous planner. I think all of that outweighs a little bit of experience."
Angus Kinnear, Managing Director: "I think that's all for now, thanks for your questions and for attending today. I'm sure we'll see you all again!"
I felt it had gone well. Confident but not cocky and assertive but not aggressive. The journalists could report it how they wanted, I'd laid down the standards for my foundations. Now that was done, I had to focus on pre-season.
If there's two words that footballers universally hate, it's pre-season.
I hated it. My fellow pro's hated it.It's that first day back, more than anything. Sweating off the junk food you've treated yourself to all Summer. Learning to re-hydrate yourself again. The endless squats, press ups and shuttle runs.Working yourself to the point you throw up (I actually enjoyed this,merely for the mental edge it gave you and the thought you were finally working yourself back to fitness).
The players were due back on Monday June 26th, 7 weeks away, yet nothing had been announced yet regarding pre-season plans. I put this down to the handover period between the previous ownership and the current period but approached Andrea about it. After looking at various destinations across Central and Northern Europe, we decided on...Scotland.
Why Scotland of all places, I hear you and the players ask?
The emptiness and calm. We'd be based in Glasgow for our stay but I'd aim to get the players away from the city for our 11 day visit. I wanted them to be calm, appreciate the surroundings and have no distractions whilst training at high altitude. The calmness would make them understand my instructions and fully focus on what I and the other coaches were telling them.Training at a high altitude would improve their all round fitness and with my goals and the type of football I was looking to play this season,their mental strength too.
We'd start off with a game against Selkirk, a local side from the Lowland League, 2 days after the players reported back for training. 2 days off to recuperate and then another game against minnows Preston Athletic. We'd end our tour with a game against Cowdenbeath, improved opposition on Selkirk and Preston Athletic. The focus throughout would be fitness. It would belong and difficult but would enable me to find out who had the steel to succeed here and who didn't.
After this, we'd then face Brighouse, Garforth and Ossett Town, three local sides, where the focus would still be primarily on the fitness side of things but I'd also ease in some defensive shape work each day. This would be a total of 6 games within 18 days but would feature a lot of rotation of the first team consequently to prevent the players from overworking themselves. We'd then top it off with trips to last season's giantkillers, Sutton United, and Crewe Alexandra before finishing with a home match against Dundee United, where we'd cap off pre-season at home.
On paper, it might look like a weak pre-season and I can see why. Granted, there was no huge test or glamorous fixture in there. However, it would allow me to ensure the players focus solely on fitness with the result being a mere sideshow. The way I look at it, if it's not for three points or progression through a competition, it's only there to apply training material into a match situation. That's what we'd be doing.
After hundreds of phone calls and plans being made and then abandoned, we'd finally settled on a full pre-season. The next day brought even more effort as I attempted to pull all the elements together and get a full backroom staff for the club. If I thought pre-season was proving hard as a player, taking it on as a manager was something else. It at least kept me busy.
I'd sat down and reviewed each player from footage of last season. I'd seen where they needed to improve,where they were strong and where we lacked depth after the departures of Taylor, Bartley and Wood. My next task was to meet with Victor Orta, the Director of Football here.
Victor told me he'd agreed 3 loan deals for players. After the nightmare of Kyle Bartley's departure last season, I wasn't keen on loan deals. Bartley was a star performer last season and at the end of the season, the club was unable to tie up a permanent deal for him. I feared that situation again. Victor wasn't happy with this but I made it clear why. He wanted to bring in Cameron Borthwick-Jackson from Manchester United, Matthew Pennington from Everton and Pierre-Michel Lasogga from Hamburg but I wasn't keen. Borthwick-Jackson and Pennington filled the Centre Back and Left Back roles I was looking to fill but the bad memories over the Bartley saga remained fresh in my mind. Aside from this, it would take up the complete £63,000 wage budget just for these three deals alone.
We did get talking about targets, after this. I identified that Centre Back was the key position to strengthen in. We needed a centre back for the left side – ideally left footed – to play alongside Jansson. I set the requisite for Victor. Someone experienced in this league, confident on the ball, a good decision maker and aged mid-late 20's. The reason for thes pecific age is that although Jansson is a superb defender for this league, he does lack maturity at times and a cool, collected head alongside him worked wonders last year. After hours of deliberations,we settled upon a mutual agreement for Yoann Barbet of Brentford. Barbet has adjusted to life in the Championship well and answered all of the questions I set Victor. I left him to discuss a prospective deal with Brentford but not before deciding upon another target.
Whilst we already had a solid left footed centre back in Liam Cooper, Barbet would be the starter,undoubtedly. However, should we get an injury or suspension to Jansson, it'd make things much harder for us. We needed a right footed centre back to cover our big Swede. Victor made a few phonecalls to his contacts and within a few hours, we were travelling down to London to discuss another deal for a second player.
The business of a transfer deal is not as easy as it appears from the outlook. You identify the target,speak to his agent, his manager, other players – all to get a grip of who he is and what he does -, then you make an offer, a counteroffer, before somehow coming to an agreement. That's if it's easy. In today's world of image rights and marketing, things can be a lot tougher. As I said a while back, the media can be a help or a hindrance to you. In this case, it was a help in negotiations.
We knew the player in question was transfer listed. We knew he fit the bill of what I look for from a centre back. What we didn't know was his wage demands were quite high for this league. At some point you admit defeat and pay the best for the best; on this occasion we decided against the deal due to the shortness of the player's demands (a 2 year deal only) and the large wage he wanted (£16,000 a week). It didn't make sense, long term. We left Central London after being unable to agree a deal with Aden Flint's agent and instead made a visit to West London to meet Yoann Barbet.
Yoann was a delight to deal with. I made it clear he could be a star here and that he was the first player I wanted here for a reason. Discussions lasted only 15 minutes before he agreed personal terms and Victor assured me he'd complete negotiations with Brentford in the morning. With Victor preparing to go to bed in the hotel he'd checked into, I turned the Mercedes Benz back towards the North ready to make my way back home. About 40 minutes in, Victor made a series of 5 calls within 2 minutes to me. I pulled over into the services to find out what he was so eager to discuss with me. “I've got some good news for you. Turn the car back towards London, we've found a centre back better than Flint and we can complete a deal tonight.”
With that, my car changed direction yet again and headed back towards Central London to thrash out negotiations for another player. It was midnight but Victor had said enough to twist my ear and I'd be spending the night in a plush hotel room by myself instead of home. Just like being a player again.
I woke up in a hotel with a superb sight of the Tower Of London. I'd been up all night, clinching deals until the early hours of the morning. The maid knocked on the door and feebly shouted 'Housekeeping!'. I ignored her and turned over to look at my phone. 11:33am. I haven't slept until that time since I was about 12 years old. Yet it wasn't the feeling of an extra few hours in bed or waking up late that made me feel so good, it was what we'd achieved last night. 2 new signings and the start of my bid to shape up the defence.
We'd gone back and forth on the phone; to the players themselves, to Andrea, to the club, to the media department and me explaining to the wife why I'd not be coming home tonight - I genuinely sent her a photo of me, Victor and the agents to shed any doubts that she may have had about me playing away, in the truest sense of the word.
Yoann Barbet was a nice, easy deal. I explained to him that he was a top quality player for this league and exactly the player I was looking for. A bit of calmness next to Jansson. If he stuck with me, he'd be loved by the fans here for years. They'd sing his name. Leeds is a massively growing city. All the usual stuff. His negotiations took less than an hour and Brentford were as much of a pleasure to deal with. I wasn't naive, not every deal would be like this; yet it just felt great to sign a key cog of the defence so easily.
SIGNED: Yoann Barbet, 24 year old centre back from Brentford. FEE: £2,300,000. CONTRACT: 4 year deal on £10,500 per week.
I was truly delighted with this signing. He's not the complete, finished product yet but once he's developed fully in line with the team, he will be. He's decent physically and technically but most importantly, mentally.
On the left hand side of central defence, we now had Barbet and Liam Cooper. Both were left footed and preferred to be on the left hand side of central defence; I felt there was no need to change that. The plan is that Barbet will start alongside Jansson but Cooper is great competition and as hungry as they come - he'll certainly be knocking on the door in that sense. We weren't finished there though.
After we failed to secure Aden Flint's signature, Victor came at me with another target. A target that would be easier to land due him being transfer listed. We agreed a deal with the player and he was desperate to come yet the club kept insisting on driving the price up. The old stories of 'other clubs are interested', 'he's young and improving rapidly' and even 'you could be facing us in a few years time - we don't want that to come back to bite us'.
It was a frustrating deal to negotiate. I didn't have to do a hard sell to the player. He knew about the history of the club and the potential here. He agreed with my style of play and the blueprint to improvement. The difficulty came from agreeing a fee. First it was £2m (we offered £1.1m). This drove them down to £1.8m but in turn, we increased our offer to £1.3m. The idea was to meet that halfway at £1.5m but they must have clocked onto this and decided to insert clauses about future sell-on percentages and appearance fees. I wasn't keen on that line of business and brashly agreed to their £1.8m demand. It was a fee I was happy to pay in the end due to the quality of the player.
SIGNED: Tommie Hoban, 23 year old centre back from Watford. FEE: £1,800,000. CONTRACT: 3 year deal on £13,000 per week.
At first glance, his wages look high for a rotation option at this level. I get that. Yet for his age, he's so mentally advanced in the game. Even just from speaking to him on the phone - I knew. He's good on either foot but primarily is right footed so I chose to use him as a cover option for Jansson. Looking long term, he's at the right age to develop nicely here. Looking on the business side of things, Pontus Jansson is incredibly talented and looks a class above in this league. A season of clean sheets will only further interest in him. Realistically, the club couldn't turn down a £15-20m offer for him if it came in - even though I happily would - so I had to look at the prospect of his replacement. Hoban ticks all boxes.
The first parts of the machine were coming together. However, I knew I still had to find a left back to challenge and rotate with Berardi. With £50m fullbacks actually being a thing, it would be a sizable task. That's what I had Victor and the scouts there for.
I'd been up all night. Wriggling, tossing, turning - receiving the odd elbow to the ribs after a night of driving the wife crazy in bed.
I went downstairs at 4:30am, made myself a cup of tea and read over my plans time and time again. Checked my bag was full of everything I needed. Checked it again. Wondered if I'd switched the oven off from last night. Checked that I'd locked the front door. My mind was full of so many thoughts that I couldn't think clearly. Not the ideal night's preparation before the first training session.
I got maybe 2 hours sleep. The alarm went off at 6:30 and I jumped out of bed with excitement. I was ready to go within 15 minutes. I sat watching the clock slowly ticking away, driving me insane; the hands must have been stuck in glue. Finally, 7:30 arrived. I jumped in the Benz and made the 15 minute drive to Thorp Arch, the training ground. I'd told the players to be there for 9am.
The first hour was spent acquainting myself with the staff. Having discussions with each coach. The focus of today was fitness. I wouldn't stop until at least 1 of them had been sick. That sounds harsh and old fashioned but it's not until you reach that point that you make progress. No pain, no gain. I wouldn't overwork them due to our busy pre-season schedule coming up but it was about taking them out of their comfort zone and seeing who'd get through it.
To my shock and surprise, every single player was there for 8:45, 15 minutes ahead of schedule. I waited until 8:59 to walk in. That may seem dramatic but I knew they'd all be looking at their watches, thinking "if we're on time, why isn't he?". I walked in and was hit with silence and 40 pairs of eyes all watching my every move. I decided to approach this in my no-nonsense manner rather than a passionate, dramatic speech. "Right, up to the training pitch then lads". The clunk of boots followed me up to the lush green, recently cut grass.
Today would be my observation. I'd **** in now and then to ask them questions about how they were doing things to get an understanding of each player's personality and thoughts. Some answers were vastly different to mine and I never gave a 'that's right' or 'that's wrong'. When the body gets tired, the brain goes with it. By wearing the players down, I'd get an insight into their quickest and therefore, truest thoughts about their approach to the game.
No ball would be used today. It would be tiring, repetitive and hard work. Some would struggle (Pablo Hernandez being the first to puke), some were sick, masochistic creatures that wanted more (this would be the local lad, Kalvin Phillips) and some surprised me (the 'madman' Gaetano Berardi was quite measured, articulate and intelligent). They all grew with me though. I helped Pablo back up to his knees and told him he was doing well. I offered little encouragement to Kalvin and in return, he worked even harder. I watched Berardi from far away and was impressed with his commitment to keep going when things got hard.
Physical fitness was key but for me, mental ability is the prime source of quality. So in between press-ups or sit ups, I'd ask a player a quick mathematical question or about who a fellow player previously played for. I even asked some questions I didn't know the answer to about 1800's classical music or Poetry to the big, tough types that I knew wouldn't have the answer - however, it raised multiple laughs. It's through that that you build a good team ethic.
Before I knew it, 12pm had arrived. The players were tired and ready for a longer break. There was no way I'd send them out to repeat the drills once again. "You've worked incredibly hard in those 3 hours. You've all progressed and you're on the long, winding road to full fitness. Let this be a lesson to you though. That hurt a lot of you and that's as bad as it gets under me. If we ever under perform or show signs of a lack of desire, it's back to that for all of you until things pick up. One of us fails, we all fail. One of us succeeds, we all succeed. You've all succeeded this morning so you've got the afternoon off of more horrible fitness work. Good work lads!"
I called the players back to the meeting room at 1pm. Unbeknownst to them, the session from this morning had been recorded by the Sports Scientist. Here, we'd review their drills and tell them where they could improve to prevent injury, how to do it better and safer and what they did correctly. Education was the key. Footballers are a lot smarter than they were in my era and any improvement will be picked up on; they want to learn. They'd go to bed tonight tired and aching but would wake up in the morning knowing how to prevent that feeling the following night.
We were due to finish at 4pm but I'd been that impressed by their attitude and desire, I allowed them to finish at 3pm. Tomorrow, a quick journey up to Scotland where the real work begins.
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