SACKED by Selangor. I deserved the sack. I will admit it. Although the win percentage was not as bad as Cambridge United, it was 29% btw at Selangor, it has been a managerial disaster class. I took over a historically big club in Malaysia, got them relegated from the Super League when they were in a bad position. I thought I would mount a promotion challenge but I left them in 6th place in the Malaysian Premier League (second division) which is mid table. This was categorically a worse job I did than Cambridge United. A total failure. At the club my wages were also cut down from 1.6k pounds per week to 1k pounds per week due to the relegation wage drop. No excuses. I deserved to go. The craziest part is that this is my longest managerial stint at any club after Wealdstone. 1 year and 15 days. Insane.
Here is how the managerial rich list looks like now. Antonio Conte at Inter Milan is the richest manager in the world. Jose Mourinho at Tottenham is at second place. And Diego Simeone at Manchester City is at third place. Under Conte last season, Inter won Serie A, they got knocked out in the Champions League quarter final by PSG, and they lost in the Italian Cup semi final to Milan. Under Mourinho last season, Tottenham finished 4th in the Premier League. They won the Europa Conference League. They got knocked out in the Carabao Cup 3rd round by Arsenal and they got knocked out by Southampton in the FA Cup quarter final. Under Simeone last season, Manchester City finished 3rd in the Premier League. They won the Community Shield. They won the Carabao Cup. They got knocked out in the FA Cup quarter final by Brentford and they got knocked out in the semi final of the Champions League by Juventus.
Many international jobs became available so I figured there must have been an international tournament. It was the Gold Cup. Mexico won the latest edition of the tournament. Also I applied for many jobs at many clubs, got a lot of interviews but no one was willing to hire me.
I have a new job. I am officially the new manager of the El Salvador national team. I have received a massive pay rise. I am being paid 3k pounds per week compared to the 1k pounds per week I was earning at Selangor. Yes, I have now ventured into international management. In the save, I used to apply for international positions before too, I got rejected by all of them earlier barring the Hong Kong job a long time back, which I rejected because of wages. I am looking forward to this new challenge, it is a very different type of challenge. Depending on the circumstances, I could possibly stay for a good period of time simply because not many clubs and international teams I assume would be able to pay higher wages if I made the choice to leave, unless an absurd offer comes in, either from a club or an international side. I am very excited about this project.
Our first couple of games as El Salvador manager have been very steady. A couple of draws. It will be a gradual process to get this team going and I am looking forward to the way we progress.
Injuries have altered our plans. And here is the El Salvador squad for the World Cup Qualifiers against Haiti and Curaçao. Let's hope we can get some good results in these games.
Got my first win as El Salvador manager, we had a disappointing loss to Haiti first. We lost 2-1. And then we won 3-1 against Curaçao. It was a fantastic game of football. Looking forward to the next few fixtures.
This is how the World Cup qualifiers ended. We finished in 2nd place in our group behind Curaçao and didn't qualify for the World Cup. Also Victor Landazuri is eligible to play for El Salvador so I asked him to represent the nation and he accepted. Also this is the squad for the friendlies against Sint Maarten and Aruba.
Gary Roberts, my former player when I was managing Gateshead has started off his managerial career at Oldham, it did not last very long. But hey, management can sometimes be a brutal experience when you are thrown in the deep end. He started off his coaching career as an Under 18 coach at Cambridge United when I hired him immediately after his retirement from his playing career. So he is technically my first disciple in terms of management, someone who may or may not follow my principles of management but someone whose managerial career I have shaped.
This is what happened in the games against Saint Barthelemy and St. Vincent. Two very good wins including a 8-1 win against Saint Barthelemy. I will take it.
So I have applied for many jobs and I have got a few interviews. My wages won't increase for now as the El Salvador manager, so depending on whether the right opportunity is available I could pick my next club or country to manage.
So I received multiple job offers from various clubs but I declined them all because of the wages on offer. They were lower than the wages I am on currently at the El Salvador national team.
