Gordon Strachan, Celtic FC coach: “Systems don’t win you games, players do”

Gordon Strachan has been the coach of Celtic FC since June 2005. In his first year, after a tough start, he won the Scottish league with Celtic FC in record time and with six matches remaining. Over the next two years he would also win the league title to become only the third ever Celtic FC manager to guide the club to three consecutive Scottish league titles. Last year Celtic reached the 2nd round of the Champions League after beating AC Milan, Benfica and Shaktar Donetsk. SoccerCoachingInternational had a chance to talk to this successful coach about his vision on coaching, although he does not see himself as successful: “Whether you win or lose, it is basically always the players.”

By: Frans Hoek and Paul van Veen

Photo by: Orange Pictures

4 No. 29 October/November 2008 Photo by: Orange Pictures

“Why am I so successful as a coach? I don’t see myself as “I don’t have a plan as a coach. I don’t have the plan to be the successful. I have a problem with talking about I and me. I just feel coach of Manchester United in the future, my life is open. part of a successful group of players. I am just a small part in I think that is better than to plan everything, because you never that, so I never think I am successful. I think along with the people know where you will end up. I never planned to be a Manchester around me and I enjoy the successes we have, but I never think United player, but I did end up there. I never planned to be the of me being the successful one.” Celtic coach and here I am sitting being the coach.”

“This is my job. Once you get your coaching badge, it’s like taking an “I can’t teach players everything. I can teach them about winning oath, just like when you become a doctor. When you become a doctor, games, I can make them understand the system. But I can’t help you take an oath that you will make people better. When you become them pass the ball anymore. When you come to this level, you a coach, you take an oath that you will make football players better. either can pass the ball or you can’t. I can work on getting people As a coach, it’s not about you. You will get better in the job over the in the correct position, but if you are 29 and you keep giving the years, you’ll get more knowledge, but it is not my goal to make myself ball away, I can’t do anything about that. What can you do if a better coach. My most important goal is to make the players better. everybody is in perfect position and somebody can’t pass the ball I want to be a coach that lets people experience the excitement I felt 15 yards? That is a waste of time. So what comes first, the when I was a player. Feel the joy I felt when I won trophies. So system or the ability to pass the ball? Of course, it is the ability to basically I am there for the players and my enjoyment comes from pass the ball. You can put Paul Scholes anywhere on the pitch; he watching players being successful and improving themselves.” will never give the ball away.”

“Why Celtic is so successful? I don’t analyze it that much, but I “He is always looking forward, always. Ferguson teaches would say we have the best group of players. It is as simple as players that after three square passes, it must go forward. He that and I think people just score goals, every season we have doesn’t want square-square-square-back-back-back. And players scoring goals. Last year, Jan Vennegoor and McDonald basically he is saying: I always want you to look forward. How together scored 50 goals and that’s basically it. We give them a do you get that forward pass of 10, 20 yards to eliminate the platform, we play a system that give chances to people like them midfield of the opponent? Paul Scholes can do that.” and they give us back 50 goals.”

No. 29 October/November 2008 5 “But whatever system is used, systems don’t win you games. Players win you games. A system can help you not to lose a game, but players will help you win a game. For example, if you take the match we played last night (against Tottenham in the Rotterdam Tournament in August 2008 – ed.), Tottenham used the system I used when I first came here to Celtic. Today I no longer have the players to play that system. But the choice of the system did not beat us last night, the passing beat us. Just the ability to pass the ball properly beat us. In the first half we had 18 unforced errors in our passing, and that means we gave the ball away while there was no pressure. Those 18 bad passes lost us 8 minutes of possession and that’s what cost us the game last night.”

“I saw the same at the European Championship. There was so much talk about the systems. But what I see: no matter what happens, when defending, they all defend 4-5-1. There were variations when you have the ball, but they all defend that way. But there is no one system that will let you win that tournament. Players will. So again, systems can stop you from conceding goals, but good players score you goals.”

“My role is to understand why we play that system. That is the coaching side of my job. But on the other side there is also a managing side. I like coaching, but you also have to make a group of players. Our team that played last night cost 8 million pound, the Tottenham squad cost 125 million. If you play the better teams in Europe, you know you can beat them 1 out of 10 matches. You have to make sure your organization is as strong as possible by preparing your team as well as possible. Furthermore, you can beat such a team with team spirit. The technical ability can only be there when you also have the team spirit at that level and that’s where we can beat that team. If you are not as technical as the other team, you have to compensate. My job as a coach is to make them feel comfortable with each other. In other words: to create team spirit.”

“In this process I didn’t encounter a lot of problems. If I had encountered a destructive player in the group I would say: you are a good player, but you are affecting other people. We watch this very closely and you have to treat players properly. I’m like a father for them. I can speak to them like a child while there is a fire. I can say: please don’t go near the fire, otherwise you will get burned. But if they keep going towards it, they have a problem and sometimes as a coach you have to be ruthless. I don’t enjoy it, but you have to do that. You hope that if you treat them properly you will get the same back. But sometimes you have to take action, but not too often luckily.”

“As a coach, there is quite a difference between Coventry and Southampton and coaching here. When I was at Coventry and Southampton, 70 percent of my coaching was how to stop the opponent, because we were playing high level teams like Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester. How can I stop Roy Keane or Paul Scholes getting the ball so often? Now at Celtic, it is different as I now have to think about how we can beat systems that try to stop us from scoring goals. It is the other way around. I now have to break down systems, at Coventry and Southampton I had a system that was hard to beat. It took me three weeks at Celtic to think the Celtic way. I enjoy both, but they are two completely different preparations.”

6 No. 29 October/November 2008 “If I watch an opponent play in the week positions, but they still need to have the before they play against Celtic, I can forget ability to pass the ball and it is not that about the way that team played in that difficult ball I am talking about. That is not match, because next week they will do what makes a great player; it is the basic something different, because we are 10 to 15 yard passing. You don’t want Celtic. They will look at Celtic and think: games where you lose the ball in the how can we stop Celtic’s way of playing? middle of the park. The ball that gives you And I understand that completely, because the most problems are the passes of 10 I did the same when I was coaching at yards that look easy. They get intercepted Coventry and Southampton. I’ve been and you have a very dangerous counter there too. I know coaches with less money attack. Most people think: that is an easy than Celtic have to work very hard and pass, so I can relax. The long pass, the don’t be disappointed or have the diagonal ones, are no big problem. But you arrogance to say: everybody should play need to do those passes to break down like us. No they don’t because that coach defenses.” has to keep his job. If he wants to get better he should keep his job for 4 to 5 “My problem at Celtic is that I hardly have years. They have to learn how not to get time to coach as we play so many games, beat and that man has to make a living for 2 to 3 games a week; it is always trying to his family as well.” reactivate them for the next game. The other problem is that everybody wants to “The longer you stay in the game as a beat Celtic. Every ground we go is full. I manager, the more you’ll learn and that know the system will be different and the means you will be able to survive. If you players will be different, because they are get through the first 4 to 5 years as a playing Celtic. It’s wearing for the players coach you normally go on. If you lose three as there is a physical limit for a player, jobs in three years, you usually don’t. It is there is also a mental limit.” as hard as that, because it’s a job everyone wants to do. I also found the first “You have to deal with that as a Celtic three years at Coventry very hard and Player. A player we signed last year didn’t when you get beaten, you can lose the realize what Celtic was all about, because belief in yourself sometimes. Every coach every game has to be won. If you concede has experienced that at some point. Every a goal, there is a crisis in Glasgow. Sack coach thinks he is the only one that has the manager, because there were shots on that doubt, but he isn’t. We have all had goal. The same holds for players: one bad our darkest moment.” pass and you could be in trouble. You have to deal with that.” “The more good players there are on the pitch, the less coaching you have to do. “I like the way Manchester United plays: There is absolutely no doubt about that. 4-4-2. However, you have different sorts of You can feel at once when good players are 4-4-2 you can play. You can manipulate on the pitch, at once. You can tell other that. You can play with two players up front, players over and over again what they but you can also play with two strikers should do, but they keep making the same where one of the two is a beneath striker. mistakes and after a certain time you know You can play with players coming of the they will never get any better. You explain it wing, etc. But the Manchester way is the to them and they forget. But good players way I would like to play, but+ unfortunately pick up things. Nakamuri does not speak it is not possible with our group of players English, but he picks up everything you and that is what you have to do as a coach. explain. The better players I’ve got, the I just look at my players to see what we can better manager I become.” accomplish but we always sign to get better. But I think every coach does. Alex “But it is funny. Just listen to the coaches Ferguson also tries to get his team better. after a match. When their team won, they To make a team that can win the say: who choose the right tactics. But look Champions League three times in a row. at a team that was beaten: the players But never sign an emotional defender were bad today. So when the team wins, it because they will start tackling, get sent is the coach and when the team loses it is off, give away penalties and give away free the players. But basically it is always the kicks just outside the box if they get players. Whether you win or lose. You as a emotional. They can’t stay focused, they coach can get all the players in the right can’t stay above the things that happen.”

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“At Celtic we try to pass the ball and try to get energy into a game. last 5 minutes because they are tired. They can’t stay on their I like the players to be fit, because I think there is a psychological feet anymore. Last season we scored 20 goals in the last 15 advantage when you know that you are fitter than the other team minutes, but we conceded only 2 goals. That period is the most and that’s a really big advantage. If I have to play against you and important period for us to win the championship, because they I know you are fitter, I am already weakened. That’s what happens. are fit, they know they are fit and they believe they are fit. They can I make them fit, so whatever ability they have, they can use it for dribble longer, they can do everything longer.” longer in a game because if you get tired, your body gets tired, your brain gets tired and when your brain sends tired signals to “I think that hard running and work can build a character. When I your legs you can’t do what you want to do, because you are tired. was at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson was doing running That is the reason why so many defenders dive into tackles in the exercises to test your character. He wanted to see who mentally

8 No. 29 October/November 2008 people mentally stronger. It worked on me and it worked on other people. He did show me that making somebody physically stronger makes him mentally stronger. I know that is a fact.”

“Football nowadays, here in Britain, is at its best. It is better now than it has ever been. Athletes are better and quicker, everything is getting better. So I don’t believe in people saying that the 60s were so good. And in the 80s there was some terrible football, especially here in Britain. But it is much better now. The back pass rule has made room for footballers. Ten years before the back pass coaches were taking shortcuts. But look at Leeds United, they won the championship, they changed the back pass rule and the year after that they are at the bottom of the league. Because the back 4 could not play football and that was a problem. The game is better now because of that rule and it is the best rule change in my time.”

“Sometimes people in Britain say we should play more like the Dutch or the Spanish or the Italians. But those are different cultures. I can set up a box of 10 by 10 meters and let the Dutch play in it and I make a similar box and let Scottish players play football in it. In the Scottish box it will be like piranhas and in the Dutch box you will see them passing the ball around. That is a difference in culture. So we have to find a system that suits our style of play, our culture, because if you go to Spain, people take an hour and a half to eat their meal at night whereas the Scots will take only 10 minutes. We speak quickly, we walk quickly; everything is done quickly. For example, I like golf and I get the ball and hit it and everybody says to me: you need to slow down, but that doesn’t work. I met this golf coach and he said, “I watched you play football for 20 years and I know you can’t slow down”. I need to find you a club that suits your swing. You can’t change a culture. We can’t behave in a way that’s not the way we are. So you have to play a system that suits your culture. You can’t just copy the Dutch.”

“When I was the coach of Coventry I got involved in everything, so also in the youth development. I was a new manager and I wanted to get involved in everything. At Southampton I just helped and now I don’t have much to do anymore with the youth development. I think it is a different world. Have your plans, but don’t chop and change. I will help if they need my help, but you have to get on with it.”

“If I had a say in it, I would let people rotate positions a lot. If I need a right back, you’ll get a young player who has played there his whole life. He always had the pitch on his left, so he has no experience or vision if the ball comes from the other side. I believe they should play in different positions. Just like volleyball, where they change all the time. Play ten minutes and then change positions. That way everybody gets a part of stopped before the body did. He could tell when somebody’s body everything. That guy who plays right back, should know how a had enough. So if someone stopped before that, it meant the body striker plays. He should be able to deal with an opponent from went first, not the mind. If you see the mind go first, you have a the other side. That player has not developed vision on his right problem. Because it is the mind that has to play on the football side. They don’t know what it is like to come this way. They pitch, that’s why you make people mentally stronger and if you train don’t know what it is like to come towards the goal, play a 1-2. them physically, you will make them mentally stronger. That physical They all have the mentality of a right back. This happens with weapon is a mental weapon. If you are fitter than the team you are all the players. They never played anywhere else since they playing against, you are 1-0 up already. You know that and the other were 8. So the striker does not understand what the midfield team knows that. I think the stuff Alex Ferguson taught me when I player wants. Players should understand every position on was a young man is still relevant today. He knows how to make every part of the pitch. That will help them in the future.”

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