Aspire in the World Fellows Book - 2025

44 45 11TH ASPIRE ACADEMY GLOBAL SUMMIT ASPIRE IN THE WORLD FELLOWS You have to accept that in modern football everything you do will be questioned, and the result determines the type of questioning. It’s important for young coaches not to lose confidence, because everyone can manageagame inhindsight. Everyone can pick a team after the event, once they’ve seen how the game played out. But you must be strong in your ideas when you’re the one making the decisions. ou know how the players have been playing and training, and their physical condition. Usually only the coaching and medical teams know those things. Sometimes, when you’re questioned afterwards, you can’t share that information due to confidentiality. So, you’re defending your decisions without being able to explain everything, and that creates pressure. With England you can always question whether I should have played a certain player or used a different formation. Those doubts always come after a defeat. But if I go back to being a young manager, I took over Middlesbrough in the Premier League at 35. I’d never coached the youth team or been an assistant. I was a player who had just played in the 2006 Europa League final, and that summer I suddenly became the manager, with no experience. Those three years were the best and worst of my life. The best because I had the chance to manage at a high level and learn so much, but the learninggapwas huge, andafter three years we were relegated. People will look at it and say it was a failure, and of course it was, but how could you possibly know everything at that age? The biggest thing I would have done differently is to make the tough decisions I avoided. There were staff It was undoubtedly demanding. But did you find it difficult? Looking back, is there anything you wish you had handled differently? I mean, a message, a moment, something like that. The outcome also determines the narrative for the next week because football is so emotional. So, staying calmandcomposed inthosemoments is vital, because you’re the leader and people need to see you’re in control. If your team is at the bottom of the league, every week you’re in front of the camera, and everyone at the training ground needs confidence that you can lead them through it. It isn’t easy, but that is the job. who weren’t right for our culture or players who needed challenging, and I backed away from difficult conversations. I let situations run too long. A staff member, for example, who I probably needed to change but thought I’d give more time. In the end, because we were relegated, people lost their jobs. Avoiding decisions as a manager means facing even bigger problems later. With the national team, I think I had good relationships with players and staff, but they knew I would challenge them. I never avoided one- to-one conversations. I enjoy spending time with people, understanding what motivates them, and challenging them. STAR CHAT