Aspire in the World Fellows Book - 2025

42 43 11TH ASPIRE ACADEMY GLOBAL SUMMIT ASPIRE IN THE WORLD FELLOWS WhenwestartedwithEngland, players were proud to play for their nation, but they were playing with fear. So, the first thing was to make it enjoyable to come back and play for England. We wanted a relaxed atmosphere in the hotel; in the way we interacted. When we trained, it was serious; in meetings, serious, but around that, there needed to be freedom and a relaxed feeling. With England, there’s already enough pressure from the media and the nation anyway. So, we wanted players from junior level all the way through to want to come back. That was the first thing. Definitely. Your language has to be simple. The opportunity now with graphics is that the analysis makes the picture so clear for the players. They can learn a lot in meetings. And, for example, when you’re in a tournament and you’re playing seven matches, you have even less time as the tournament progresses to get on the pitch. Physically, you can’t train the players too much as it becomes an injury risk. When preparing for a big game, how do you capture players’ attention in such a limited window? You mean the message has to be short and simple and clear? The second thing is that there are all the things you want to do as a coach, but if you’ve only got three days, what are themost important things you can cover that will help you win the game? You’re always challenging yourself with that. Coacheswatchmatch after match, and we prepare meetings, but players have limited focus. You don’t want to overload themwith too much information. They need the key points with and without the ball and to know the basic patterns the team wants to use. STAR CHAT We always tried to get players into positions they were used to. But we were taking Liverpool players who, under Jürgen, pressed high, and players like Rice at West Ham who played deeper. Manchester City were building from the back through the goalkeeper, but our goalkeeper at Everton was playing long every week. So, you’ve got to find a method that all the players understand, that suits their attributes but doesn’t place demands on them that make them uncomfortable. For example, Pickford has a great range of passing, but if we put him under toomuchpressurebyconstantly playing back to him and asking him to do things he doesn’t do with his club, there’ll be anxiety. So, you try to relieve that anxiety, give real clarity about roles, and simplify things. I think a coach’s job is to simplify the game for players, not overcomplicate it. I think for every coach now there are so many different people you have to communicate with. Your players, and a staff group that’s bigger than ever, with experts in every field. When I started playing, on a Friday afternoon we’d get on the coach to travel to a game. We had a manager, a coach, a physio, and a kit man. That was it. Very few people, and everyone knew what they were doing. Now you might have a bus for the players and a bus for the staff. So, you have to manage all those people. People might call you a head coach, but you are a manager, you have to manage people, because no one else is going to manage the dynamic between all your staff and all your players. Then you’ve got to communicate with the fans, which is through the media, and that has never been more challenging. The demands from TV, radio, streaming platforms, newspapers, social media, you’re interviewed constantly. The time Sometimes you might need a player to do something unusual. How do you manage that conversation with a player? Who feels uncomfortable with what you’re asking for? I think another important part of your job was communication. What did you learn about communication that can be useful for managers? you spend dealing with the media is disproportionate to the time you actually get with your players. And you’ve always got to think: what message am I delivering? If I have a meeting with my players, how do I want them to leave the room? What messages do I want them to take? In a press conference, what do I want supporters to hear, but also my players, the opposition, and the nation? It’s complicated. I used to prepare for press conferences the same way as a training session, because one word or one quote in the wrong place and suddenly you have a drama with a club, another country, or your government. So, it’s very important to be able to communicate well.