âIan has resigned, Are you ready for the job?â
Without hesitation, I said âYesâ
How wrong I was.
Believing in my ability was one thing, but having the experience and knowledge was another. I felt confident, but the task was far larger and more testing than I could imagine.
I remember my first game. I wore a suit, a suit! I looked like a politician in a changing room. What was I thinking? I thought I needed to show authority. I stuck with the suit for a while, and it had an adverse effect. The players liked me for who I was someone with energy, passion, and honesty, not some guy in a suit
I had been a Player/Assistant just weeks before, sharing the dressing room with these lads. Now, I had the opportunity to lead them. I should have stuck to my beliefs and characteristics instead of adopting a manager persona. That suit got burnt and never returned in my 9 years as manager
When given the job, I realized how much I didnât know. Weeks before, I was an Assistant giving opinions. Only when my head was on the block did I appreciate my lack of knowledge. I genuinely felt I would turn our fortune around, get us up the table, and get results. Flash? Confident? Arrogant? Most definitely all three. I believed in my ability as a Coach/Manager, but I didnât know half of it once I stripped it all back. The lack of experience in certain situations was eye-opening
As an Assistant, you can smooth over players because it wasnât your decision. But as a Manager, the buck stops at your door. The day-to-day challenges were my biggest lessons over the 9 years of managing. Dealing with disruptive players and trying to get buy-in from the whole group was tough but something Iâve had to improve on hugely
I remember a falling out with a Player who wasnât my signing. He was always against my decisions. As an alpha male in the group, losing him meant losing the dressing room. Every day brought new arguments, I would pander to him, bend the truth, and tell him what he wanted to hear. That was great for a day or two, but it would blow up again. Experienced Managers advised, âBe honest. Players want honesty.â I donât know why I wasnât honest. As a player, all I ever wanted was honesty
I went back to basics, treating players how I wanted to be treated. Open, honest questions, regular feedback, and constructive criticism. These early experiences played a huge part in my development. Youâre not going to get buy-in from everyone and thatâs okay! Itâs okay to be disliked. That was a huge barrier for me to overcome. Iâve always wanted to be liked and loved, but in this industry, thatâs not going to be the case
As long as I stuck to my beliefs, my characteristics, and was congruent with my message, I could find comfort in that. Over the period of 9 years and 500 games, my managerial style has developed significantly. Iâm a strong believer in man management being a key component
Man Management over Tactics? Whatâs deemed the better option? Thatâs for another time
Without hesitation, I said âYesâ
How wrong I was.
Believing in my ability was one thing, but having the experience and knowledge was another. I felt confident, but the task was far larger and more testing than I could imagine.
I remember my first game. I wore a suit, a suit! I looked like a politician in a changing room. What was I thinking? I thought I needed to show authority. I stuck with the suit for a while, and it had an adverse effect. The players liked me for who I was someone with energy, passion, and honesty, not some guy in a suit
I had been a Player/Assistant just weeks before, sharing the dressing room with these lads. Now, I had the opportunity to lead them. I should have stuck to my beliefs and characteristics instead of adopting a manager persona. That suit got burnt and never returned in my 9 years as manager
When given the job, I realized how much I didnât know. Weeks before, I was an Assistant giving opinions. Only when my head was on the block did I appreciate my lack of knowledge. I genuinely felt I would turn our fortune around, get us up the table, and get results. Flash? Confident? Arrogant? Most definitely all three. I believed in my ability as a Coach/Manager, but I didnât know half of it once I stripped it all back. The lack of experience in certain situations was eye-opening
As an Assistant, you can smooth over players because it wasnât your decision. But as a Manager, the buck stops at your door. The day-to-day challenges were my biggest lessons over the 9 years of managing. Dealing with disruptive players and trying to get buy-in from the whole group was tough but something Iâve had to improve on hugely
I remember a falling out with a Player who wasnât my signing. He was always against my decisions. As an alpha male in the group, losing him meant losing the dressing room. Every day brought new arguments, I would pander to him, bend the truth, and tell him what he wanted to hear. That was great for a day or two, but it would blow up again. Experienced Managers advised, âBe honest. Players want honesty.â I donât know why I wasnât honest. As a player, all I ever wanted was honesty
I went back to basics, treating players how I wanted to be treated. Open, honest questions, regular feedback, and constructive criticism. These early experiences played a huge part in my development. Youâre not going to get buy-in from everyone and thatâs okay! Itâs okay to be disliked. That was a huge barrier for me to overcome. Iâve always wanted to be liked and loved, but in this industry, thatâs not going to be the case
As long as I stuck to my beliefs, my characteristics, and was congruent with my message, I could find comfort in that. Over the period of 9 years and 500 games, my managerial style has developed significantly. Iâm a strong believer in man management being a key component
Man Management over Tactics? Whatâs deemed the better option? Thatâs for another time
