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There are few in the game who have the depth of knowledge and experience of Harry Redknapp. And as he reveals to Elite Soccer magazine, it has enabled him to view football in a way that is probably more philosophical than most.
Certainly that you can’t be everybody’s friend. When I first took over at Bournemouth I felt very much on my own. It was pretty much just me and the kit man. Money was also tight at that time, so I didn’t have many staff to bounce ideas off or talk to. When you first become a manager, it can be a pretty lonely existence.
You’re not able to be friends with the players anymore; you’re sitting at the front of the coach on your own rather than at the back having a laugh with the rest of the team. And you take the job home with you; if you get beaten, the whole weekend is a disaster.
In football, you can only really think about the week ahead. You rarely get a chance to enjoy your success, because within 30 minutes of one game finishing, you’re thinking about the next match. It means you don’t have the time to sit back and dwell on your achievements. This business is entirely results-led; five or six bad results and your position can be in jeopardy.
I love to watch players do fantastic things in training, as well as on a match day. When you have a great team and they’re zipping the ball about and scoring goals, it’s like watching a great racehorse on the gallops.
I think a good manager can be successful anywhere. Being a good judge of players is key to that success. A bad judge will buy bad players. You have to be convinced that there is something important in every player you buy, something that will improve your team and create the right balance.
I believe that confidence plays a huge part in all walks of life and try to instil self-belief in my players. I don’t criticise them too often and if, on occasion, I do get stuck into them they know they deserve it. I tell them straight what I think. However, I’m not one for shouting and hollering – I’d rather explain to them what they can do to improve and give them encouragement.
I am pretty relaxed and laid back, so I’m not one for stringent rules, fining players or ruling with an iron fist. I try to treat my players as responsible adults – if they can’t respond to that and behave themselves, I don’t want them in my team.
When things aren’t going well it is, of course, difficult to remain relaxed. However, it helps that I’m able to go home to my family and have quality time with them. My wife Sandra and I are involved with charities like Leukaemia Busters and the Round Table Children’s Wish, and that certainly keeps the football part of my life in perspective. I love football and, like everyone in the game, I want to be very successful. But I also know that there are other important things in life – when all is said and done, football is a game, not a matter of life and death.
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