Steven Chicken

The Examiner’s sat down with Town boss Danny Cowley to talk about his first few months at the club, what he found when he joined ... and Championship Manager!

What have been your biggest with the many good people there always feel when you’ve been with players. The art is you don’t always the top clubs and consequently surprises since you arrived at the are at this club. a group a long period of time have time to wait and try and crebeen pampered as a result of the club then - good or bad? Do you ever fear failure when you’ve got them on remote control ate the ideal, which a philosophy environment they’ve been in and

When we first arrived, just the you move to a new club? because they’re moving in possesis. ultimately they just a product of toll that the difficult period had Every day. I think it’s a healthy sion, out of possession, how you You have to try to win enough that environment... it must be taken on everybody, staff particuthing to fear failure, I think it’s what want them too, and you have that points and for us you just try to set really difficult for them to stay larly but players equally, and how drives you. For me it takes me real alignment over how you want the players up to be successful and humble, and I really understand much deep care there was for the about five minutes to get over sucto play. that’s what we always endeavour to that. football club, and definitely we had cess, unfortunately. My wife always That just takes time. Unfortudo. For Nicky and I it’s always about to work through that and try to find tells me I should enjoy it for longer. nately, I don’t have a magic wand learning. We just want to keep trya way of coming through that But the thing I like about success to be able to accelerate that proing to find ways of getting better period. is it gives me the next opportunity cess. and adding to our skill set and the

I still don’t think actually we’re for future success. Failure lives I think you can accelerate the environment and the culture that out of the woods, I still think there’s with me a lot longer unfortunately, process through well-planned we try to create because, ultia way to go, but certainly we’re it’s a lot harder for me to work intelligent training and using mately, it’s just for the players. making small steps. I would say through. I try to learn to manage your learning hits, whether All we want to do is try to work that was the biggest surprise. myself so you don’t get too high or that’s on the training with a group of players who want to

Maybe we were naive when you too low. I don’t think I’ll ever get pitch or in the video improve and want to get better and consider how difficult the period too high because I’m just like... I’ve room, and try to we want to try to do our very best to had been for the club, the miracle done that, I want to get to the next really develop the facilitate that. in achieving promotion to the Prething now, what’s the next thing? players’ underDo you get much time to relax? mier League, but then how difficult But certainly in terms of disapstanding. Once Nah, it’s pretty much football - it must have been for everybody at pointment you have to learn to you develop that, 24/7, 365 days of the year. That’s the club to try and live with other manage yourself in that moment. understanding what it is and that’s what we want it clubs that are at that level. Results have taken an upturn then that’s how you to be and that’s what we like.

That has definitely been the bigrecently, that must make it easier create that allIt’s only work if you perceive it to gest surprise, and I think it’s our or does it just drive the standard important alignbe work. My wife is my only issue, instinct, Nicky and I, to always try up? ment. because she never perceives it to to help people and try to help the You don’t strike me be work, so then when I get home situation. We’ve tried to do that as someone who has a big she then never thinks I’ve been at oover-arching football philosophy work, so then... probably looking

No, I think everybody talks after my children is what I perceive about philosophy and I’m never work to be! ev ever sure football’s that compliBut no, we love it, we enjoy every ca cated. single day, and we’re really privi

If you’re a good coach and you leged to be involved in professional understand football, you should be sport and really privileged to be able to set your teams up in differinvolved in a game that we love. ent formations with different styles Are you still travelling across to suit the players you have at your from Lincoln most days? d disposal. No... so our children are still in

I see some managers I always Lincoln. They’ve already had three th think strangle themselves with this schools and they’re only six and philosophy and they only can play ten. We stay in Huddersfield two or in a certain way. Well, football three times a week. We did that at unfortunately doesn’t always lend Lincoln in our first two years, and it it itself to that because we have does allow you to be really focused tr transfer windows and we inherit on the job, because when the chil

There’s still a long way to go to where we want to get it, and I

That all said are there any coaches that you see that have been a big influence on you and the way that you coach and the way that you think?

Oh yeah, there’s loads, loads. I’m always trying to take ideas and I suppose put your personality and slant on them.

C l ive Wo o d w a r d definitely had a big effect on us. We had the pleasure of meeting Sir Clive. I’ve read all of his books and I’ve watched loads of his sessions - I love rugby union. His book Winning was just a brilliant book, I learned loads from that.

For Nicky and I it’s always about learning. We just want to keep trying to find ways of

getting better

You seem to be genuinely enthused by things like that, I think in a way that if you’d played the game and come in at a top level maybe you’d take that kind of thing for granted. You seem to be sort of pinching yourself at times...

It’s easy for us to be humble because if you come from humble beginnings then it’s much easier to stay humble. For top players that have been at the top clubs from a really young age, they’ve only seen