Rising to the challenge

It is the pressure that drives me to succeed.

I need to go somewhere where the club is under pressure. A club that’s maybe lost its way.

I’ve now had more than 700 games as a manager. In my first and second spells with Ross County, and when I took over at Plymouth Argyle, they were clubs that needed to get promotion. At Morecambe, they were bottom of League Two and the pressure was to stay in the Football League.

That is my managerial grounding – going into clubs where they need success and where I’ve had the strength of character to take on the challenge. History tells you that I’ve been able to do that with success.

In my first job at Ross County, organisation was needed. Scottish coaches are renowned for being very organised and pragmatic, but we also want to see entertaining football. We want to see players who can dribble and take on their opponent. We want to see crosses into the box and goalscoring number nines. A number 10 who gets on the ball, is creative and gets the crowd excited.

My coaching style has also had a Dutch influence, stemming from my experiences as a player. As a manager, I always love taking my teams to the Netherlands to play games. When I see that Dutch style, when the centre-halves split, one of them gets on the ball and hits a diagonal to the winger, and the team shifts across – I love that.

"There are times supporters want to see you playing with two strikers"

I’ve always wanted to play 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, as the Dutch do, but I’ve had to evolve. Over my career, I have adapted and changed formation, according to the players I’ve had and the situation the team is in.

In my first game as a manager, at Ross County in 2007, I played 3-5-2. I thought that was the way we could win the game, and we did. 

When I went to Plymouth Argyle, the previous manager had been playing 3-5-2, but the supporters wanted to play with wingers again, so I went in and played 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3.

One of the formations I’ve had success with is 3-4-1-2. There are times supporters want to see you playing with two strikers – you’ve got to understand what the football club requires and what will get you results. That’s where coaching ability and tactical nous come into play.

I’ve been to Celtic Park and played with a diamond in midfield and two up front. Another time, I went there and played 3-4-3. As a coach, I adapt to the situation – the players I’ve got and the type of club I’m at.

In my first spell with Ross County, we won the Second Division [third-tier] title, then reached the Scottish Cup final as a Championship club, which was amazing. We beat Hibs in a replay in the quarter final, then faced Celtic in the semi final at Hampden.

"They certainly believed when we went 40 games unbeaten"

They had some talent in that team, including Robbie Keane, Georgios Samaras, Scott Brown and Aidan McGeady. We beat them 2-0, which was probably one of the greatest successes that Ross County have had.

It set us on a path. Ross County had been a Highland League club until the mid-1990s, but now they are an established Scottish Premiership side. It was about giving them belief that they could make it to what was then called the Scottish Premier League (SPL).

They certainly believed when we went 40 games unbeaten across the 2011/12 Championship campaign and our first season in the SPL, which was not easy. We finished fifth in the top flight in that first campaign.

Recruitment was so important to me then, and always will be. I always try to have two different types of player for every position. For example, at left-back, to have one who is good going forward, and one who is better defensively. The same at right-back, and so on. That gives me adaptability from week to week, depending on the teams we’re playing. 

In the modern game, you need two centre-halves who are very quick and good on the ball. If you can get that and pressure opponents, man for man, all over the pitch, it gives you a great opportunity in the game.

I’ve always had a ball-playing centre-midfield player, and sometimes a destroyer who allows others in the middle of the pitch to play. Then there are midfielders who get on the blind side of their opponent to get a goal – similar to what I did in my playing days. And I like to play with a strong, mobile number nine, who can either take it into feet or run behind, and wants to score goals. 

"It turned out to be the best move that I could have asked for"

The players may change, but my teams have always been of a similar nature. I get excited when I see my team understand how I want the game to be played, offensively and defensively. To be in the game, you need defensive solidity, to be able to move across the pitch and shut it off. Then, offensively, to open the pitch as big as possible.

I like creative players. Sometimes I have played with two number 10s in the hole, and one striker, which allows our full-backs to get forward. A central-midfield player can then get on the ball and make passes.

After my success at Ross County, in 2015 I got the opportunity to go to Plymouth Argyle. The club was in dire straits at that time, having been in administration a few seasons before. They had dropped from the Championship to League Two in successive seasons, and had spent four seasons in the fourth tier. It turned out to be the best move I could have asked for. 

My remit was to get them promoted. In my first season, we got to the playoffs, where we met Portsmouth in the semi finals. They were two of the best games I’ve ever been involved with. The first leg at Fratton Park – a 2-2 draw – was an unbelievable atmosphere. But the return at Home Park was even better, especially when we scored a last-minute winner.

It was a proud moment to reach the final, but unfortunately we didn’t perform well enough at Wembley and were beaten by Wimbledon. The next season, then, the pressure was on.

We got automatically promoted into League One, missing out on the title on goal difference. That season we played mostly 4-2-3-1/4-3-3, although at times we did change to a three at the back. It was a really outstanding team for what was only the 10th-highest budget in League Two.

"to come up against someone of the stature of Jürgen Klopp was terrific"

But then I’ve never had a big budget to spend at any of the clubs I’ve managed. I have only spent £100,000 in total on transfer fees in my managerial career so far. It’s not like I have been able to pluck a player from the best team in the division. It’s been free agents who I’ve had to sign, building teams by making players better. I’ve taken players who have had a knock somewhere else, and revitalised their careers through coaching and management, getting them to believe in themselves again.

That is something I get a buzz out of. If they end up getting a better move at the end of the season, it means they have done well for me and the football club, as well as themselves. Getting performances out of players to get results and generate revenue through transfer fees is what you have to do.

During the promotion season at Plymouth Argyle, the club still needed £850,000 to pay off its creditors. At that time, in January 2017, we played Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup. That was really important for the club – but even better was that we managed to get a 0-0 draw at Anfield. That meant we got another game against them at home, which generated even more much-needed revenue that went a long way to paying off the creditors. 

Not only that, but we had a training pitch that didn’t have irrigation and wasn’t the best from a security point of view. Those two matches against Liverpool enabled us to put in irrigation and fences.

It was a bit surreal to go to Anfield and draw 0-0. We didn’t have many opportunities on the day, but to put on a display for the 9,000 supporters who travelled there was important for the club. It was also great for the Plymouth public to be able to see Liverpool at Home Park, even though we lost 1-0. And for me, as a manager, to come up against someone of the stature of Jürgen Klopp was terrific. Mind you, I know he wasn’t happy that he had to travel to Plymouth on a Tuesday night!

In my next job, at Morecambe, I took the club on its best FA Cup run since the early 2000s. We reached the third round, where we played Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. When I walked into the dressing room with the Chelsea team sheet, all my players were staring at me, wondering what Chelsea’s team was. I didn’t announce it, just put it up on the board – you wouldn’t believe them all running around the board to see who was playing!

"We had no heads of recruitment, no analysts. It was just me finding the right players"

That was the season Chelsea won the Champions League, and they put out one of the strongest line-ups they could field against us. Antonio Rüdiger, César Azpilicueta, Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Timo Werner – we did well to come out with a 4-0 loss, considering the talent they fielded. To defend against a team of that calibre, we had to be very organised. 

That is the nature of the business, because to get promoted you need more than flair going forward. You must have defensive nous and the ability to close space, then be able to counter or create openings.

Mind you, promotion didn’t look to be on the cards when I took over at Morecambe in November 2019 – the club was bottom of League Two. I could have waited for another opportunity after leaving Plymouth Argyle, but you never get the perfect job. A lot of people said: “What are you doing?” I said: “Well, I’ve got to believe that I can get the best out of these players. I’ve got a January window, and I can change things about with the squad.” 

And that’s what I did. I took my own ethos into it, had to move players on in that window, and we were able to stay in the league.

The following season, we had no players in contract and had to find a new team. It was during Covid, and I had to build a squad from scratch. We had no heads of recruitment, no analysts. It was just me finding the right players, so I was watching Wyscout, speaking to managers and agents about players who were available, building a team I thought could get promotion.

I remember the season before, not long after I joined, I was sitting on the bus and one of the staff asked me: “What do you think you can do here?” When I said “get promoted out of this division”, they laughed at me. But I managed to change the mentality from it being a club that was ‘little old Morecambe’, to being Morecambe Football Club. 

"It is a massive football club, and they wanted a manager who knew how to get out of the division"

Getting people to believe they could succeed there – as I did at Ross County – is probably one of my proudest achievements. Morecambe had been in League Two for 14 seasons before we won the 2021 playoff final, which took the club into League One for the first time.

After that final, I accepted an offer to take over at Bradford City, who had finished 19 points behind Morecambe in League Two. It is a massive football club, and they wanted a manager who knew how to get out of the division.

Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to see the job through. When I left Bradford, in February 2022, we had lost the same number of games as second-placed Tranmere, but we had drawn too many games – particularly at home – and were eight points off the playoff places. 

I think the pressure from above at Bradford, to get promotion, is the biggest problem there. I understand that. They have been in League Two for five seasons now, and they are still trying to get promotion. A manager there doesn’t get time, so you need results.

Shortly after, I went back to Morecambe, who were in the League One relegation zone with 13 games to go. We had seven out of the top 11 teams to play, so it was about management – we needed to organise the players so we could pick up points. Not just wins, because a point from a game could turn out to be a very big point at the end of the season. We drew with Ipswich in my first game, got a terrific win at Charlton and beat Oxford in the run-in, among other games where we picked up enough points to stay up.

The following season we took it to the last game, but ended a couple of points short of staying up. When I look back on that campaign, we battered Portsmouth at home only to draw with them, and we should have beaten them away as well. Those two games alone made a difference, such are the fine margins in football.

"I have a lot of experience and didn’t get the right feeling there"

But for Morecambe to be in League One for two seasons was a terrific achievement, because we didn’t have the finance to compete at that level. We had the lowest budget in the division, so it was really difficult just to achieve what we did.

In November 2023, we were just outside the playoff places, when I decided to go back to Ross County for a third time. I soon felt, however, that I had made an error going back. I spoke to the CEO and made a decision to leave after 12 games, to give them an opportunity to move forward as well.

It was disappointing. As a person and as a manager, you ask yourself: “Did I make the right decision?” But I have a lot of experience and didn’t get the right feeling there.

My ambition now is to get back into English football, with a team that has maybe gone a wee bit stale, or lost their way and need revitalising. A club with a fanbase who are hungry for them to succeed.

It would be terrific to go into a team where I had money to spend and a budget that enabled me to go out and get the players that I wanted. I understand, though, that my record shows I can improve players and change things in other ways to get promotion.

With experience, I have probably mellowed a bit. But you can never take away my drive and determination to succeed.