LEON BRITTON
®Êby JAMES CANDY LEON BRITTON has a huge job on his hands as the newest, least experienced and shortest manager in the Premier League.
The 5ft 4in Swansea midfielder will today take charge of his first game as a manager following the midweek sacking of Paul Clement.
He will take inspiration from the way his former team-mate Garry Monk stepped up to save Swansea from relegation in 2014 following the axing of Michael Laudrup.
“I thought Garry handled it well,” said caretaker boss Britton ahead of the visit of Crystal Palace.
“I’m not saying I’m the same as Garry, but I think the players could see if Michael Laudrup was going to go, then Garry would probably step in.
“He stepped in until the end of the season, which was a bit of a longer period, whereas I’m here until Saturday – or it might be a bit longer.
“Garry went straight into it and got the senior players on board. He made sure he got their ideas and feedback on things.
“I’m not saying we dictated to him but we’d say, ‘That worked well today’ or ‘Maybe that wasn’t so good’, then of course the manager decides. But he kept a good rapport with the players.” Monk masterminded a 3-0 thrashing of local rivals Cardiff in his first game in charge before securing their top-flight status with a game to spare.
He was the last man to survive more than 12 months in the job at Swansea, lasting nearly two years before getting the chop and moving to Leeds, then current club Middlesbrough.
At 35, Britton is a year older than Monk was when he started on the managerial path. So he has sought advice from his former team-mate of 10 years, ahead of his own dugout debut.
And he will not be afraid to make the big calls, even if he upsets his teammates in the process.
“I’m going to have to lay the law down to the players,” said Britton.
Memories
“I will pick the team. I can’t pick all the players, so of course there are going to be some who are disappointed.
“The most important thing is we’ve got to be all together. It’s about the team, it’s not about the individual.
“We all want to play when we’re players but it’s about putting that aside, as hard as it is, and focusing on being together.
“Decisions are going to be hard because I’ve shared a lot of good memories with these lads and I’m good friends with them. But by taking this role, I know that’s one of the things I’ll have to do.”
Swansea hope to have a permanent boss in place for the Boxing Day trip to Liverpool. Frank de Boer is the leading candidate, potentially as part of a Dutch double act with former Arsenal star Dennis Bergkamp.
But Britton wants his players to shoulder their share of the responsibility for sorting things out on the pitch.
He added: “I have a belief with the way I want to see the team play, which is getting players forward to support the strikers and the wingers. Once they get there, it’s down to the players.”