Hammell: I will use the hairdryer if required
FIR PARK BOSS INFLUENCED BY McLEISH AND OTHER MENTORS
BACK to where it all began. To start all over again. Twenty-two years on from making his debut as a Motherwell player at Pittodrie, Steven Hammell’s first assignment as the club’s full-time manager will be staged in the same venue.
Hammell will hope symmetry doesn’t extend to the result. In April 2000, Aberdeen recorded a victory in the first of his 583 appearances — a post-war record — during almost two decades as part of the Fir Park squad.
Managers, of course, tend not to stick around that long. Counting back to Alex McLeish, who visited his parents’ home to persuade him to first sign for Motherwell aged 15, Hammell worked under a dozen different bosses.
Mark McGhee was there twice. Once was more than enough for some others. The short-lived, simmering tenure of Jim Gannon would surely fall into that category. Even if Hammell is far too polite to ever name any names.
Good, bad and indifferent, all these past experiences have been lodged in the 40-year-old’s mind and helped shape his outlook on how success might best be achieved. Ultimately, though, Hammell will thrive or fail on his own merit.
‘You learn a lot from every manager you played under, even the ones who weren’t as successful as they wanted to be,’ he admitted. ‘I still learned so much from them all.
‘Alex McLeish was the first when he came to my house and convinced me to sign for the club. Then it was pretty much every manager since then.
‘You take things you learn from these guys and put them on top of your own ideas as well, things you have learned on your own path.
‘Were there some where I learned what not to do? Sometimes, absolutely. Especially now, you need to be able to control players and know how to deal with people.
‘I feel that’s a strength of mine. It’s about how to get the best out of players.
‘Gone are the days when everyone just gets the hairdryer every week, win, lose or draw.
‘It’s about how we can be demanding of players so that they are demanding of themselves and take ownership of it.’
Previously academy director, Hammell is cut from modern coaching cloth. But that doesn’t mean the hairdryer is locked away for good. Its blast was felt in the Fir Park dressing room during last week’s 2-1 defeat that marked his second game in interim charge following the exit of Graham Alexander.
‘Aye, it came out at half-time against St Johnstone,’ admitted Hammell. ‘The players are aware of it. If you asked them, they would know the first half against St Johnstone wasn’t what we needed or what we’re looking for.’
A much-improved second-half showing ensured no damage was done to his bid to land the job permanently. Not, it must be said, that he was being judged on 45 minutes.
Hammell’s in-depth knowledge of the club, its structures and how they might better function appealed greatly to the Motherwell board. Supporter reaction has also been positive.
Even so, Hammell knows he has been elevated into a perilous position. Being a bona fide club legend only grants a certain amount of grace if points aren’t posted.
‘That’s the thing — exactly,’ he recognised. ‘That’s where we’ve put ourselves now. I understand how volatile it can be in the manager’s seat.
‘Motherwell has been my working life. I came here just before my 16th birthday and have pretty much been here ever since.
‘It is everything. I know I am now in a position where you are going to be scrutinised and there is pressure on you. But there is nobody who puts more pressure on this job than myself and there is no one who will do anything more to succeed than me.’
Handed a two-year contract, Hammell begins the process in earnest today with a trip to the north-east. Just like in 2000.
‘I felt I was ready well before that to play,’ he said, reflecting on his playing debut as an 18-year-old. ‘But when we were travelling up, Billy Davies said that Stephen McMillan was struggling with an injury.
‘It was very relaxed. He just came
over and told me: “You’re playing tomorrow”. I don’t think I came out of the team for about 100 games afterwards. It was a good starting point for me, even if we didn’t win the game unfortunately.’
So how will the emotions then compare to today — when he steps into the technical area knowing he’s the man in charge for the foreseeable future?
‘Do you know what, I’ve been relaxed about it,’ he replied. ‘I’ve been on the touchline for about ten games a week in my job before (with the academy), so that’s not foreign. It’s just standing on the touchline in a first-team match that’s different.
‘Of course there’s more pressure, the environment is more hostile, but I’m relaxed about that.
‘We’ve had good buy-in from the players. Of course, it is going to be difficult. Aberdeen is one of the toughest venues on the calendar, so we know we need to be very, very close to our best to have a positive performance.’
Work will then shift back to recruitment. More attacking options are required, as is another left-sided defender — Hammell’s old position — after Jake Carroll suffered a ruptured patella tendon that might end his season.
‘We’ve already been on that, I’ve been preparing as if I’ve been getting the job, so we have got targets,’ said Hammell. ‘The recruitment side of it is so volatile, it’s so uncertain.
‘I would rather bring in a seven or eight out of ten player that is going to fit into what we are trying to do here and fit into the culture and environment we are trying to create, than bring in a nine or a ten that is going to upset things and going to be a real problem for the group.
‘It is so difficult, especially with how late we are in the window, and what we feel we need. But it is so important that we get it as close to right as we can.’