WHY THOMAS TUCHEL SHOULD AVOID TALKING ABOUT FOOTBALL WHEN HE TACKLES THE IMPOSSIBLE JOB

NEW England manager Thomas Tuchel can find success winning over his new players – by avoiding talking about football.
Drew Povey, who has worked with a string of sports stars, says Tuchel should adopt the tactic as he prepares to tackle the impossible job.
He said: “One of the best coaches I know is a man called Tony Smith who coaches rugby league teams. When he goes into a new club he makes sure he talks to everyone, players and staff, about anything but rugby. He gets to know them, finds out what makes them tick and what they think about away from sports. It’s about understanding their character and really listening and connecting with people. So my advice to Tuchel would be to start by not talking about football at all.”

Here, Drew outlines the five tips he’d offer to Tuchel as he prepares to make his dugout-debut..

Do Your Homework

“Any leader who comes into a new team needs to do their homework, even before they’re anywhere near crossing the threshold. There is a certain amount of acclimatising to do on both sides too. Tuchel’s track record may speak for itself, but if he wants the next goal to be successful, he will need to put in the groundwork. Some leaders just have it. You know they’re in charge when they walk into a room. They inspire people to follow them.
What makes the difference between a good team and a great team is that inspiration at the top, uniting and driving people forward.
“The challenge for Tuchel as he enters this new job is that he’s arriving in a well established team who had success under Gareth Southgate and showing them he can go one step further..”

Understand The Culture

“Tuchel has to understand the culture around the team. That means ringing around, talking to people and also making his own observations on how the team operates. If you are taking over a squad, as Tuchel is, you clearly look at previous matches and how the team work together and approach a challenge. But it’s important to factor in how they work and operate off the field too. By understanding what makes his players tick he is more likely to be able to adopt a style which appeals to his players. He may also need to adapt that style depending on the player. No one person is the same and a good leader sees that and is able to adapt accordingly.”

Create Expectations

Tuchel needs to set expectations on day one. Too often we go into a new place and we expect someone to deliver some arbitrary target without understanding who the team is, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. We expect them to jump over a bar, and they’re not able to get anywhere near it. Or we may find they can jump a lot further than that. Tuchel needs to work out which players are in which bracket, and set clear and tangible targets for his team. For Tuchel the ultimate goal will be to win the World Cup. But he’ll need to demonstrate the key steps along the way that will take the team to the promised land.”

Be willing to change

“No one who goes into a new organisation can be themselves straight away; they have to understand what was there before them. This is one of the most common mistakes I see leaders make; you need to take time to understand the culture and the people in this team where you are the newest member. Too much change all at once unnerves people and if you want to maintain those parts of a team which makes it successful then you can’t head in like a bull in a china shop. Make sure people know that you will be keeping the things that make it a good place to be but be clear that over time, start to move the way things work towards your own style.”

Make Your Mark

“Any great leader needs to eventually introduce their own style. They can’t do it overnight but football players will expect a new manager to have their own style and their own ideas and they will expect to see it clearly demonstrated. As successful as Southgate was he wasn’t able to get his hands on that elusive trophy. So players will be looking at Tuchel and asking what he can do to take England to the next step. He’ll need to weave his own style into the team rather than enforce it all at once from on high. Both Warren Gatlin and Gareth Southgate were very good at this. They set expectations. The best coaches need to go in and say, ‘this is what I’m going to expect of you.’ But they follow that up with, ‘this is what you can expect from me.’ “The next few weeks will show whether Tuchel can bring his success as a leader into the England squad. I’ve got a feeling he will.”