Obviously, this weekend sees you take on Liam Rosenior, probably two people not expected at the start of this season to be in these roles. In terms of English coaches, you both went to the Championship to work there. How do you see the pathway for English coaches? Do you have to take more risks, taking these jobs that maybe you weren’t expecting and things like that?
“I don’t think you take more risks. I think you kind of take what’s in front of you and take the opportunity. I think that’s the big thing. Whatever level of football it is, I don’t think there’s a perfect or an ideal pathway really, or an education or experience. I think it’s proven over time some get thrown in right at the top. Some will work their way up from lower leagues, some will come from maybe under-18s or 21s football. I don’t think there’s a natural or naturally a perfect pathway. I think you’ve just got to make the most of the opportunities that are given to you and some come sooner than others. I’m sitting here and maybe at some point it didn’t look like it was going to happen, but this is where I find myself and I’m trying to make the most of it.”
And, although it’s a rival, when someone gets a big job like that, that has come through a similar pathway, do you appreciate it a bit more, do you sort of raise a smile to it?
“Yeah, of course. For us, it would be great to have more younger coaches, managers coming through and being at the top, in the elite, at top clubs and the top competitions. I think that would be great for the country and for the national team and whatever moving forward. There’s an element of focus on what’s happening right now and what job I’m in and what I’m trying to achieve and almost fighting against the world when you’re doing that because it’s us against everybody else. You’ve got to take on that mentality as well, but certainly respecting the coaches and what it takes, and then managers throughout the game, whether English or not, of the challenges that brings, and when someone’s doing well, respecting what they do, for sure.”
Across your 11 games in charge so far, we’ve seen some matches when Amad’s been playing on the right-hand side and some matches with Bryan Mbeumo’s played some minutes there as well. Just interested to know how you see the two players go about their tasks on the right and what you think their strengths are, particularly in that role?
“Yeah, I don’t think it’s kind of [about] going into the individual, I just think both players can play that position. Sometimes playing a bit wider, sometimes playing inside the pitch, sometimes playing a little bit deeper inside, sometimes playing higher on the last line, depending on kind of what spaces we want to attack really. And I think both can play that position well. Obviously, Bryan’s played through the middle, and he’s played on the left once or twice as well. So, I think it’s just game-to-game. Both are really good players. Obviously, we like them a lot and they’ve done some really good things and are a big part of what we do.”