CIOFFI STAYING THE COURSE
GABRIELE CIOFFI was working himself into the ground at Crawley so much that his wife warned him he was putting his health at risk.
So the Italian will not let his side’s recent slump get to him – because he knows he can conquer anything life throws at him.
Fabiana Cioffi put her foot down in January when she saw what her husband’s lifestyle was doing to him and their two young children.
But the 44-year-old manager took her advice on board and now spends an hour a day recharging his batteries at the golf course near the club’s training ground. Cioffi said: “I lived the job 24-7 last season. It wasn’t healthy. Everybody needs an emergency exit. It’s a tough business.You can’t enjoy it if your mind is not clean.
“You need to recharge the batteries. I was giving myself stomach problems. I am not the sort of person who can do yoga, read a book or meditate. I am not someone who likes to chill.
“I play golf. Every day. I disappear for one hour to a course one minute’s walk from the training ground, clear my mind and come back to the office refreshed.
“If you can’t switch your brain off, you are in trouble. One day, my wife said to me, ‘Our children are beautiful, we are healthy.We have a good lifestyle. Enjoy your experience but don’t kill yourself’.
“From that moment, I changed. I took it to heart. I am very demanding of myself, but from the kitman to the best player, they absorb the message you are delivering daily.
“So I am demanding but positive – and that hour on the golf course helps me shut down and clear my mind so I can keep going.”
Crawley face Morecambe today hoping to turn things around after winning just three league games following their Carabao Cup humbling of Norwich in August.
But Cioffi is convinced results will come. He said: “We are a young squad. Our average age is one of the lowest in the league. This is not an excuse but we have players who are still learning. There is a process of growth.
“Results recently have been poor but some of our performances have been good. I’m lucky I have good staff on my side. I am confident.
“The players we have are here because I wanted them and the club invested in them. We are growing together.”