UP FOR A PUSH!
Scot Barry Douglas admits he suffered mental health issues as new start stalled at Leeds
Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino regard him as a coaching visionary.
And that’s not because he got club spies to peek over Derby County’s training ground fence before a game last season. Marcelo Bielsa isn’t called El Loco – the crazy one – for nothing. But with a CV that lists Argentina, Chile, Athletic Bilbao, Marseille and Lazio as prev ious manageria l jobs, he’s still one of the best around. Barr y Douglas can testif y to that. The Leeds United defender has worked w ith different gaffers in different countries with different philosophies. The well-travelled Scot was in Poland and Turkey before a move to Wolves – and their own charismatic boss Nuno Espirito Santo – in 2017. But Douglas has never encountered anyone quite like Bielsa. For anyone interested in the game’s f ine details and t actical nuances, the 64-year-old Argentine is a figure of fascination. So much so that Doug las finds it hard to convey the level of intensity that Bielsa puts his players under. Players can’t chap this manager’s door for a chat or to ask why they’re not playing. Personal relationships with his squad members are a no-no. Rarely will Douglas or any of his Elland Road team-mates have small-sided games or possession exercises in training.
Instead, Bielsa spends most of the week drilling into his players the importance of tactical shape with or without the ball.
He’s not without his quirks. For example, during pre-season new sleep pods were brought into Leeds’ Thorp Arch facility, with Bielsa urging players to have a nap bet ween double sessions. Douglas admits Bielsa’s methods can at times be draining. But ultimately he k nows Leeds w ill get the benefit. A fter missing out on promotion to the Premier Leag ue last season w ith a play-off defeat, they’re one of the favourites to go up again. And Douglas, now fully fit after an injury-ravaged first season in Yorkshire, is desperate to achieve it – and finally fulfil his dream of playing in England’s top flight. The 29-year-old won the Championship with Wolves but was then sold by Espirito Santo before he got a crack at it. Now, he’s conv inced that Bielsa c a n help h i m m a k e th a t st e p u p a f ter helping Leeds draw 1-1 with Nottingham Forest yesterday to make it four points from six. Giving an incredible insight into the workings of a coaching legend, the Scotland full-back told MailSport: “It’s certainly different under Bielsa. Themanager is unique. “He’s very particular on tactical situations. We do a lot of drills working on shapes in training. “We don’t do small ga mes or possession stu ff.It’s more to do with the tactical side. That’s why it can be quite demanding at times. “But now that we’ve had a year under him, we know what to expect. “He’s taught us how to look at the game in a different way. “To describe how Bielsa works, you really have to be there to ex perience it yourself. I can tell you what we do but it’s difficu lt to understand w ithout sitting down and actually watching it. “Then you’d realise the intensity and demands he puts on his players.
“He’s like no-one I’ve ever worked with before.
“I’ve played under a lot of different foreign managers, each with their own different views on the game. But Bielsa has his own way. “You can’t really go and talk to him. He likes to keep his personal relationship distanced from work. “He feels that he’ll get more out of us if we don’t become too close. But we have that mutual respect. “Ever y manager has a different way or philosophy. Thisis the right way for us right now and I ’ ll definitely use some of the stuffhe has taught me later in my career. “We have sleeping pods at the training ground. He’s big on that, especially during pre-season. “So we’ d come in at 8.30am to train in the morning. Thenwehave to go for a siesta to recover before tra ining in the afternoon. “So they can be long, hard days. But hop efully it w ill benef it u s during the season.
“How did I find it? Personally, I prefer my own space, the comforts of home.
“But if you have kids in the house, it can be good to get a bit of respite and recovery. And that’s so impor tant, in terms of how we play.” Douglas felt under pressure to impress Bielsa when he joined the club last summer. Af ter an outstanding campaign at Molineux, when he was top of the Championship assists table with 14, so much was expected of him at Elland Road. But when h is first season was ridd led with injury problems, it took a toll on the Glaswegian. Private sessions with a mental health coach were required to help him come to terms with not being able to do his job. And now, as he prepares to embark on a fresh start at Leeds, Douglas is in a far better place. He said: “It was tough because I cou ldn’t influence any thing. I had
to learn how to deal with that. I probably missed 50 per cent of the season and I’ve never been in that situation before. “I felt really down about it and had a lot of unanswered questions in my head, especially around Christmas time.
“If it wasn’t for my wife and wee boy, I’d have been borderline depressed. But ever y time they smile, ever ything changes.
“My mindset is different now. I did a bit of work with the menta l health coach because of the situation I was in. I was in a dark place. “But now I le ave every thing at the front door. When I get home it’s just about family time. Nothing else matters. I ’ve had to learn to be patient and work at it. “It was difficult because of the expectations on me, given my performances the previous season. “Therewasa spotlight on me as a big signing for Leeds. “It’s probably the first time in my career that I’ve had that. “And at this club there’s always expectation anyway. “These fans are a step above most clubs in England, never mind just in the Championship. So I w a nted t o l ive u p t o t hat a n d show what I could do.” Now Douglas has t hat opportunity. Despite losing Kemar Roofe to A nderlecht and keeper Bailey PeacockFarrell to Burnley, Bielsa’s side are tooled up for another crack at promotion this season. And Douglas is as determined as ever to reach the promised land of the Premier League. He said: “To do it again, and to play in the Premier Leag ue, that’s my goal – the ultimate ambition.
“I want t o a chieve promotion with Leeds this season.
“But if we’ve learned anything f rom l a st y e a r i t ’ s t hat yo u ca n’ t t a ke anything for granted. Even if we’re up there we know how quickly things can change. “That’s a lesson for life as well. I worked so hard to earn a crack at the Premier Leag ue but it can be taken away in an instant. “So I’ve learned never to look too far ahead.”