INTERVIEWS
Exclusive interview: Nottingham Forest’s Steve McClaren
After a spell coaching in Holland and Germany, Steve McClaren is back in English football for the first time since his ignominious departure from the England manager’s job. And in an exclusive interview with Life’s A Pitch, the new Nottingham Forest boss explains that his sole focus is to bring Premier League football to the City Ground and that winning is all that matters.
Firstly Steve, how does it feel to be back managing in England?
I’m absolutely thrilled and delighted to be back, especially at a club with such an extraordinary tradition and a huge fan base. I enjoyed my time on the continent immensely and it was good for me as a person and a coach, but it is great to be back. I’m very excited about Nottingham Forest and having played at Derby County just up the road, I know how much the club means to its supporters. The potential at Forest is enormous. It is my job to get that potential out.
What are your realistic goals for Forest this season and for the long-term future?
Obviously we would like to secure a place back in the top flight. That has to be the aim. Whether it can be done this season, or the next, or whenever, remains to be seen. The Championship is a very tough league to get out of, make no bones about that. It is choc-a-bloc with very ambitious teams who all have the same aim in mind, to get into the Premier League. We are no different to plenty of other sides who are chasing the dream of the big time. What is slightly different about Forest is that we are lucky enough to have huge support and that can help you. Obviously there is more expectation, but you have to accept that when you go into football. When I started in management at Boro there was a lot of expectation then and it is no different now.
It’s shaping up to be a tough division, with the likes of West Ham and East Midlands rivals Leicester City investing heavily in their squads. Who do you see as your main promotion rivals?
All of them! There are very few ‘weak’ sides in the Championship, if any. There will be the three sides who came down from the Premier League – they will be very strong. Then you have the likes of Cardiff and Leicester who will be thereabouts. My job is not to worry about other teams, though – it is to make sure we are one of the top two sides come the end of the season and if we don’t make the top two, to get into the play-offs and go up that way. Whatever way we go up would be fine by me. It is going to be a very long season and you need everyone pushing in the same direction in order to succeed. The clubs that do that – pull together – better than the others will go up and rightly so.
Having managed FC Twente and Wolfsburg, would you say that coaches get more respect on the continent than in England?
Not necessarily. Coaching and managing is a hard job wherever you are. The expectation levels are the same. There is a feeling of expectation at Forest and there should be. It is a big club which belongs in the Premier League. I enjoyed my time in Holland and Germany. It is for others to judge if I was successful or not, but I stand by my record.
How has your approach to games in England changed after your experiences of managing abroad?
You change all the time. Coaching is a never-ending learning school. I think I have learnt lots of things about coaching and man-management at all the clubs I have played for and managed and that includes my spell abroad in Holland and Germany. My approach has not changed radically. It is a simple one – to win football matches. However you go about doing that is fine, but as long as you win games that keeps you happy and above all else it keeps the fans happy. Sure, they want to be entertained and you have a duty to do that as well, but above everything you have to win. Winning is all that matters.
What differences will Nottingham Forest fans notice in the way the team plays now that you’re in charge?
You will have to wait and see. I want the fans to come through the turnstiles and watch a winning team. Nothing else interests me. Winning is everything to me and it will be everything to the fans, who have supported this club through thick and thin. I like to play attractive, attacking football, but you can be the most attractive side in the world and lose every week. That doesn’t wash with me. You have to try and score goals, but ask any manager in the world if they would take 1-0 every week and they would say yes.
The City Ground became a fortress under Billy Davies, with a long unbeaten record finally coming to an end in March. How important is it to achieve this?
Home form is vitally important to any successful side. The best teams have the best records at home, it is as simple as that. I think if you can generate a real fortress mentality at home it does create a foundation to build on. At all the teams I have managed, I have tried to create a decent home record. Its importance cannot be over-stated.
Previous managers at the City Ground complained of struggles with the board and the acquisitions panel when buying players. How have you found this?
I’ve had no problems at all in getting the players and staff I want in.
You have brought in players with vast experience at this level and above, namely Jonathan Greening, George Boateng and Andy Reid. Is experience essential to getting promoted out of this division?
I think you need experience and youth in equal measure to be a really good side. I don’t think you can win leagues with a collection of teenagers but at the same you cannot have everyone over 30. It needs to be a blend. I have brought in some experienced, very good players because that is what I felt was needed. I think all the good sides I have watched over many years have the combination of the two. You need youth in your team because they tend to be more fearless. But you also need cool heads out there in the heat of battle.
A number of players have left the club over the summer. Do you feel the squad needs adding to and are you close to finalising any deals?
I’m always on the look-out for players. You never stop looking. There are always improvements you can make to any squad. If the right player comes along, at the right price, I will try and sell the club to him. It was no different at any of my other clubs. Obviously you have to work within certain financial boundaries, but I understand that and support it. I never stop talking about players to other managers and asking whether A or B is available and at what sort of price. That goes on all the time.
Forest have spent less than the likes of Leicester, West Ham and Brighton so far this transfer window. Are you focusing more on free transfers and bargains rather than spending big?
I think you have to try and get value for money. There are players out there who we cannot buy and who I wouldn’t even try to because they are not within our guidelines. That’s fine. I’ve got absolutely no problem with that. Some of the best buys I have made have cost relatively little. I think spending more means you are more likely to buy quality, but is by no means a definite rule. There are bargains to be had out there, no doubt about it. Matt Jarvis played for England last season and he cost Wolves a pittance.
The club has always had a strong youth foundation. Are there any players coming through the system that you see breaking into the first team this season? If so, who?
We shall see. I wouldn’t want to burden our young players by saying X or Y is going to take the Championship by storm. That would not be fair to them. I would say this club has got a very enviable record when it comes to producing its own players and I would very much like to continue that. I think my record, particularly at Boro, shows that I am keen to give young players a chance. Stewart Downing came through under me at Boro, as did Adam Johnson and Lee Cattermole and a host of other youngsters. I’m proud of that and I would like to continue that sort of approach at Forest.
There’s something of a Dutch connection with your decision to bring in Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink as first team coach. What will he add to the coaching set-up?
Jimmy is a good friend of mine, he is an ex-player and he has been looking to get into coaching for some time. I had no hesitation. He was a terrific enthusiast as a player and I know he will bring some of that enthusiasm to the football club. He is also very keen to learn about coaching and how to get the best out of footballers.
Have you decided who will take over from Paul McKenna as club captain?
You’ll have to wait and see.
Were you to win the first 10-12 games of the season and a desperate Premier League club came calling, how difficult would it be to ignore such advances?
I’ve signed a contract at Nottingham Forest and my job is now totally focused on getting us into the Premier League and staying there. Nothing else interests me.
Aston Villa backed out of interviewing you for the manager’s job at Villa Park this summer due to fan pressure. What do you think you have to do to convince the doubters of your abilities? And do you care what they think?
I think you will always get people who rate you and people who don’t. That is the nature of football. I think my record is a good one. I took Boro into Europe, won the club’s first ever trophy and won the league in Holland. Whatever anyone thinks about me as a manager is up to them. My only concern now is doing as good a job as I can with Nottingham Forest. That has to be my sole focus. I think if I started worrying about what people in football thought of me as a coach I would be heading down a very rocky road. You have to have belief in yourself and I do believe I can do a good job at Forest and bring back Premier League football to the City Ground.
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