greenflyer
16-06-2014, 10:22 AM
:coolhib:
Scot Gemmill is making a name for himself as one of the most promising young coaches around. He is currently the talk of the Uefa Under-17 Championships in Malta after his Scotland team overcame Germany on Monday. Gemmill’s team play Switzerland at Hibernians in Paola on Thursday and could face England in the semi-finals.
The 43-year-old is thoughtful, self-deprecating yet ambitious, willingly admitting “I want to win the Champions League”, and is partly driven to make a name for himself as a coach and manager after finding it difficult to live up to the playing pedigree of his father. Most famously, Archie Gemmill dribbled through Holland’s defence to score an iconic Scotland goal in the 1978 World Cup. He also won two titles with Derby County and the league and European Cup at Nottingham Forest.
His son enjoyed a decent career, playing mainly for Forest and Everton and for Scotland on 26 occasions. There was particular frustration at sitting on the bench at France 98. This was the World Cup, the stage his father graced. “I grew up idolising my dad, captain of Scotland," said Gemmill. “I wanted to play in the World Cup so badly. Naively, I thought I could play a part and something special could happen.
“I never got that opportunity. To be so close to such an occasion and not quite make it was a massive disappointment, even more now looking back. The frustration hasn’t eased. It wasn’t only the Brazil game. I didn’t kick a ball in the whole tournament. I also went to Euro 96 and didn’t kick a ball.
“I didn’t quite to get to play the level I wanted. I only scored five goals for Everton. In my first season for Forest, I scored 14 goals from central midfield. Roy Keane scored 15. It was all downhill for me after that! I don’t reflect on my career as successful. That really drives me on to be successful as a coach.
“My father was so successful that I judge myself against him but I was never the star player, never the fans’ favourite. I lived a completely normal life even though I was a Premiership footballer. I could walk down the street completely unrecognised.
“People ask me what’s it’s like to have a famous father? I don’t know what it’s like not to have a famous father. It’s completely normal to me to have a famous father. But I know it’s affected me. It’s influenced the way I behave as a coach and how I am as a person. It’s all connected to him.’’
So he relishes this chance with Scotland Under-17s. “This particular group at the Euro finals have a defiance and resilience. It’s something that my father tried week after week to ingrain in me, playing as if your life depends on it, playing with that edge. That’s something I try to convey to the players. The players who do end up successful are those for whom discipline and commitment are non-negotiable.’’
Along with the wise counsel of his father, Gemmill has had major influences that have shaped his nascent success as a manager. “Mr Clough had this X factor. Martin O’Neill nailed it when he said you wanted to please him. The top coaches today, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, have a similar influence on their players. Their players are convinced those guys can improve them. Those players go out completely inspired and motivated just as Clough’s players did.
“At Forest, there was no real coaching but the message was clear in regards of keeping the ball. Most of Clough’s team-talks involved a towel in the middle of the dressing-room floor with the ball on it, the referee banging on the door, demanding the teams go into the tunnel but nobody was allowed to move or speak until Clough said ‘get the ball and when we get it, we keep it and pass it to ‘our Nige’.
“At the end of the game, Clough would normally be on his knees, offering to untie Keane’s boots for him, because he idolised Keane. I stole a line that Clough use to say to Keane. I said to one of the young Scotland strikers: ‘run hard on the pitch and if you can’t run any more I’ll come on and carry you off myself’.’’ Basically: give everything.
The memory of playing alongside Keane reminds Gemmill of the hunger required for the younger players. “I played in the game when Roy came over from Ireland: Scarborough away in a trial game. Roy and I played in midfield. Roy asked to play on the right and I wouldn’t let him. Whenever I bump into him, that’s the first thing he reminds me of! He struggled to get over that one! Even as a young player he was very demanding, very quick to let you know if standards weren’t being reached.’’
After Forest, Gemmill moved to Everton, eventually playing under David Moyes. “He was very intense. He would have ordered your dinner for you back then if he took the team to a restaurant. That’s how intense he was. I felt he was a really good coach but I didn’t think that he had the balance quite right between coaching and management. He had the potential. He showed how good a coach he was but I didn’t feel that he was maximising himself as a manager.
“My best friend in football is David Weir, who worked under him (at Everton). David says he (Moyes) has learned, adapted his managerial style because he’d been made aware that he was a little bit too intense, that he needed to give the players a bit more freedom. That intensity helped get him to get where he got to. It was a big part of what he did. It would be interesting to know if he has adapted.’’ Moyes’ failure at Manchester United “would not damage the reputation of Scottish coaches”, Gemmill added.
Gemmill did not stroll into management. “If you spoke to me the year I stopped playing in 2007, I would have said 100 per cent that I’ll not miss football. I was wrong. It’s as big a part of my life as my family are. I needed it way more than I thought. I am here because I want to win the Champions League.
“If you spoke to anyone about Scot Gemmill they’ll say ‘he’s too nice a guy to be a top manager, not nasty enough.’ I don’t agree with them but I understand how I’m perceived. My old team-mates would question whether I had the potential to be a top manager or top coach.’’
He gained inspiration by reading “The Chimp Paradox” by Dr Steve Peters, the sports psychiatrist. “The book helped me understand that it’s OK to be uncommon, that I’m not a weirdo. I just needed authority. I need authority to be able influence players. It helped me understand how my brain works. It helps you get to the next level.”
His journey to the next level began in Barcelona where he’d moved with his wife Ruth. “Her patience and understanding of my ambition and career are incredible. She will go anywhere with me. It helps that Barcelona is a beautiful place to live. We rented an apartment and every day I’d catch the tram to the Barcelona training ground and watch the youth team and the B team. I looked over the fence and watched Oscar Garcia (recently of Brighton & Hove Albion) taking the sessions, standing at the side of training.
“Ramon Planes was sporting director of Espanol. I guessed his email address, emailed him and the next day he invited me in. I went to do my Pro-licence at Espanol with Mauricio Pochettino. I was living in Barcelona when Pochettino became Southampton manager. The first thing he did was take Southampton to Barcelona, and they trained at the Olympic stadium two times a day for five days. I was in that stadium every day watching those sessions.
“I knew they would be crucial sessions where the new manager was trying to get his ideas across, and show his team how he wanted them to play, playing out from the back. I sneaked into that twice a day to see. It reassured me for my own development that he wasn’t doing anything I wouldn’t do. That gave me the confidence to kick on.’’
Scotland’s Under-17s have responded strongly to Gemmill. “I’ve tried consciously not to refer to my playing career in team-talks or individual meetings with the players. I don’t want them to see me as an ex-player. I want them to see me as a coach who can help them improve.
“A playing career has less than five per cent relevance to management. It gives you an initial foot in the door with the players but you can lose that respect. Players are street-wise. Players today are willing to question you. If I think back to my era, I’d never have questioned a coach’s ideas and philosophy. The players nowadays have questions and you need to know the answers. They will challenge your authority.’’
A fascinating mixture of the diffident and confident, Scotland’s Under-17s coach wants to climb high. “In 10 years’ time I see myself winning the Champions League. It’s embarrassing possibly to say that publicly. It’s time for me to go public with that. That’s what I’m trying to achieve. I understand the chances of it are very, very slim but that’s the plan. At some point I am going to have to try and convince a club chairman to give me an opportunity.’’
Scot Gemmill is making a name for himself as one of the most promising young coaches around. He is currently the talk of the Uefa Under-17 Championships in Malta after his Scotland team overcame Germany on Monday. Gemmill’s team play Switzerland at Hibernians in Paola on Thursday and could face England in the semi-finals.
The 43-year-old is thoughtful, self-deprecating yet ambitious, willingly admitting “I want to win the Champions League”, and is partly driven to make a name for himself as a coach and manager after finding it difficult to live up to the playing pedigree of his father. Most famously, Archie Gemmill dribbled through Holland’s defence to score an iconic Scotland goal in the 1978 World Cup. He also won two titles with Derby County and the league and European Cup at Nottingham Forest.
His son enjoyed a decent career, playing mainly for Forest and Everton and for Scotland on 26 occasions. There was particular frustration at sitting on the bench at France 98. This was the World Cup, the stage his father graced. “I grew up idolising my dad, captain of Scotland," said Gemmill. “I wanted to play in the World Cup so badly. Naively, I thought I could play a part and something special could happen.
“I never got that opportunity. To be so close to such an occasion and not quite make it was a massive disappointment, even more now looking back. The frustration hasn’t eased. It wasn’t only the Brazil game. I didn’t kick a ball in the whole tournament. I also went to Euro 96 and didn’t kick a ball.
“I didn’t quite to get to play the level I wanted. I only scored five goals for Everton. In my first season for Forest, I scored 14 goals from central midfield. Roy Keane scored 15. It was all downhill for me after that! I don’t reflect on my career as successful. That really drives me on to be successful as a coach.
“My father was so successful that I judge myself against him but I was never the star player, never the fans’ favourite. I lived a completely normal life even though I was a Premiership footballer. I could walk down the street completely unrecognised.
“People ask me what’s it’s like to have a famous father? I don’t know what it’s like not to have a famous father. It’s completely normal to me to have a famous father. But I know it’s affected me. It’s influenced the way I behave as a coach and how I am as a person. It’s all connected to him.’’
So he relishes this chance with Scotland Under-17s. “This particular group at the Euro finals have a defiance and resilience. It’s something that my father tried week after week to ingrain in me, playing as if your life depends on it, playing with that edge. That’s something I try to convey to the players. The players who do end up successful are those for whom discipline and commitment are non-negotiable.’’
Along with the wise counsel of his father, Gemmill has had major influences that have shaped his nascent success as a manager. “Mr Clough had this X factor. Martin O’Neill nailed it when he said you wanted to please him. The top coaches today, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, have a similar influence on their players. Their players are convinced those guys can improve them. Those players go out completely inspired and motivated just as Clough’s players did.
“At Forest, there was no real coaching but the message was clear in regards of keeping the ball. Most of Clough’s team-talks involved a towel in the middle of the dressing-room floor with the ball on it, the referee banging on the door, demanding the teams go into the tunnel but nobody was allowed to move or speak until Clough said ‘get the ball and when we get it, we keep it and pass it to ‘our Nige’.
“At the end of the game, Clough would normally be on his knees, offering to untie Keane’s boots for him, because he idolised Keane. I stole a line that Clough use to say to Keane. I said to one of the young Scotland strikers: ‘run hard on the pitch and if you can’t run any more I’ll come on and carry you off myself’.’’ Basically: give everything.
The memory of playing alongside Keane reminds Gemmill of the hunger required for the younger players. “I played in the game when Roy came over from Ireland: Scarborough away in a trial game. Roy and I played in midfield. Roy asked to play on the right and I wouldn’t let him. Whenever I bump into him, that’s the first thing he reminds me of! He struggled to get over that one! Even as a young player he was very demanding, very quick to let you know if standards weren’t being reached.’’
After Forest, Gemmill moved to Everton, eventually playing under David Moyes. “He was very intense. He would have ordered your dinner for you back then if he took the team to a restaurant. That’s how intense he was. I felt he was a really good coach but I didn’t think that he had the balance quite right between coaching and management. He had the potential. He showed how good a coach he was but I didn’t feel that he was maximising himself as a manager.
“My best friend in football is David Weir, who worked under him (at Everton). David says he (Moyes) has learned, adapted his managerial style because he’d been made aware that he was a little bit too intense, that he needed to give the players a bit more freedom. That intensity helped get him to get where he got to. It was a big part of what he did. It would be interesting to know if he has adapted.’’ Moyes’ failure at Manchester United “would not damage the reputation of Scottish coaches”, Gemmill added.
Gemmill did not stroll into management. “If you spoke to me the year I stopped playing in 2007, I would have said 100 per cent that I’ll not miss football. I was wrong. It’s as big a part of my life as my family are. I needed it way more than I thought. I am here because I want to win the Champions League.
“If you spoke to anyone about Scot Gemmill they’ll say ‘he’s too nice a guy to be a top manager, not nasty enough.’ I don’t agree with them but I understand how I’m perceived. My old team-mates would question whether I had the potential to be a top manager or top coach.’’
He gained inspiration by reading “The Chimp Paradox” by Dr Steve Peters, the sports psychiatrist. “The book helped me understand that it’s OK to be uncommon, that I’m not a weirdo. I just needed authority. I need authority to be able influence players. It helped me understand how my brain works. It helps you get to the next level.”
His journey to the next level began in Barcelona where he’d moved with his wife Ruth. “Her patience and understanding of my ambition and career are incredible. She will go anywhere with me. It helps that Barcelona is a beautiful place to live. We rented an apartment and every day I’d catch the tram to the Barcelona training ground and watch the youth team and the B team. I looked over the fence and watched Oscar Garcia (recently of Brighton & Hove Albion) taking the sessions, standing at the side of training.
“Ramon Planes was sporting director of Espanol. I guessed his email address, emailed him and the next day he invited me in. I went to do my Pro-licence at Espanol with Mauricio Pochettino. I was living in Barcelona when Pochettino became Southampton manager. The first thing he did was take Southampton to Barcelona, and they trained at the Olympic stadium two times a day for five days. I was in that stadium every day watching those sessions.
“I knew they would be crucial sessions where the new manager was trying to get his ideas across, and show his team how he wanted them to play, playing out from the back. I sneaked into that twice a day to see. It reassured me for my own development that he wasn’t doing anything I wouldn’t do. That gave me the confidence to kick on.’’
Scotland’s Under-17s have responded strongly to Gemmill. “I’ve tried consciously not to refer to my playing career in team-talks or individual meetings with the players. I don’t want them to see me as an ex-player. I want them to see me as a coach who can help them improve.
“A playing career has less than five per cent relevance to management. It gives you an initial foot in the door with the players but you can lose that respect. Players are street-wise. Players today are willing to question you. If I think back to my era, I’d never have questioned a coach’s ideas and philosophy. The players nowadays have questions and you need to know the answers. They will challenge your authority.’’
A fascinating mixture of the diffident and confident, Scotland’s Under-17s coach wants to climb high. “In 10 years’ time I see myself winning the Champions League. It’s embarrassing possibly to say that publicly. It’s time for me to go public with that. That’s what I’m trying to achieve. I understand the chances of it are very, very slim but that’s the plan. At some point I am going to have to try and convince a club chairman to give me an opportunity.’’