Warburton sure Cathro ticks all the right boxes
ASK Mark Warburton if he would have been ready for management at 30 and his mind races back through the years.
His own route to the technical area was certainly unconventional. Warburton, though, had different things on his mind when he was Ian Cathro’s age.
The fortunes, quite literally, of Kansallis-Osake-Pankki were often foremost. This isn’t some scarcely pronounceable minnow from a Scandinavian league, but rather Warburton’s City employer during the early 1990s.
‘At 30, I was working as chief dealer at a Finnish bank in London,’ grinned the 54-year-old Rangers boss. ‘Coaching was not high on my agenda.
‘I wasn’t qualified (to be a manager) at that time. I worked in a bank. I had a different focus, although I was still coaching kids.’
Warburton had played nonleague football for Enfield and Boreham Wood before focusing on his day job. He would later walk away from the financial sector to build a coaching career that led him to Ibrox via spells at Watford and Brentford.
That background leads him to look far beyond Cathro’s status as Scotland’s youngest-ever top-flight manager.
Or the fact that he never played a senior professional game.
As far as Warburton is concerned, Cathro’s time coaching in Portugal with Rio Ave, in Spain with Valencia and at Newcastle under Rafa Benitez is far more relevant. Those are the learning experiences he will deploy in Govan tomorrow.
While Cathro’s appointment has been questioned by some around Scottish football, his first opponent feels that it is a bold, brave idea by Hearts.
‘I don’t know Ian or (assistant) Austin MacPhee, but they are well qualified and they beat a lot of good candidates to the job,’ said Warburton.
‘I’m sure they are more than ready for the fight. It is a big job Ian has taken on, but all credit to him. He is brave to take it on.
‘It’s a big call for him, it’s a big call for the club, but he has the subject knowledge, he’s certainly qualified for the job and I think he has the ability to do it. So good luck to him — after Saturday, of course.
‘I read Austin’s comments in the papers this morning, saying that he didn’t come from a highquality playing background.
‘I just played Conference-level football, so there are different backgrounds and Ian has done lots of coaching around the world.
‘He’s taken a different route in but, however you do it, it takes hard work in terms of getting the qualifications and being the best you can be. Nothing changes.
‘I also read Austin’s comments about the dressing-room “zoo” and about how players are intelligent. They want to come into an organised environment and know what they are doing.
‘They want to enjoy what they’re doing and they want to leave feeling better for it.
‘If you can do that, it doesn’t matter if you’ve played in the World Cup or you’ve played for Raghouse Rovers — as long as you do that for the players.
‘They are smart guys and, if you get the environment right, they will respond accordingly.’
Winning that respect is key. The lack of any great CV as a player can create an initial scepticism that must be dispelled. It was a concern Warburton encountered as he began to take upwards steps in the game.
‘Yes, it was at Watford for me,’ he admitted. ‘I started coaching the 12s and 13s, then the 14s and 16s and it is only when you get to the reserves that you get the first-team players coming down and you start to think: “If I get this one wrong, I’ll get dug out here”.
‘You have to get it right and it challenges you. Then you realise that players want to enjoy what they do. They want relevant practice. When you realise that, you get over it very quickly and then you either sink or swim.
‘Word spreads quickly in football. You’ve just got to be organised, whatever job you’re in. You have to show a level of subject knowledge and, if you can do that, you’ll be alright.’
While the spotlight may be trained on Cathro’s debut as Hearts boss, tomorrow’s game is no less important for Warburton.
Outgunned in Robbie Neilson’s final match in charge at Tynecastle, his team responded by overcoming Aberdeen at home last weekend. That result hoisted them back into second place in the Premiership.
Warburton doesn’t expect Cathro to have conducted a complete overhaul of Hearts’ style during his few days at the helm. Lessons have been learned about combating their high pressing game.
But the Ibrox boss disputes the impression that the Gorgie side were physically stronger during their recent 2-0 win.
‘I don’t agree with that,’ said Warburton. ‘I read people say we were outstanding against Aberdeen. We weren’t outstanding with the football and the stats tell us that. We had the second lowest passing stats of the season but it’s about the result.
‘We were poor (against Hearts), no excuses, but we were much better against Aberdeen and we want to be better again.’