I just want to be a good manager not part of a soap opera on TV
Alexander shunned limelight at Salford
Scott McDermott Being Salford City manager is one of the most high-pressure jobs in British football.
On the face of it, that might seem a ridiculous statement.
An English League Two club with a capacity home crowd of just 5000 fans.
Where’s the stress in that? But we a l l k now the background of the club.
Backed by the Class of 92 – Gary and Phil Neville, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes – plus businessman Peter Lim’s millions, expectation at Moor Lane is huge.
Not getting promotion isn’t an option for Salford.
The aim is to reach the Championship and, ultimately, the Premier League.
Nothing less than that will be acceptable. Now, that’s pressure.
Anyone who watched the recent Sky TV documentary that took you behind the scenes will know what’s involved.
The manager is under major pressure to deliver but that’s why Graham Alexander took the job in the first place.
Doing s ome t h i n g completely different is also the reason why he’s now Motherwell gaffer.
Despite getting Salford into the Footbal l League and reaching the EFL Trophy Final last year, Alexander was sacked earlier this term.
He accepts now that the expectation levels at Salford are unrealistically high for any manager going in there.
Alexander is convinced that going through it will help him at Fir Park.
As he prepared to face Steven Ger rard’s Rangers in the Premiership today, he said: “I was well aware of expectations when I went to Salford because of their track record - to win.
“But I wouldn’t have gone if it wasn’t like that. I dropped a couple of levels to take the job as I believed in the long-term project, where they wanted to go.
“It didn’t quite work out but we had success. We were promoted, got to a cup final and were unbeaten this year.
“So I don’t look back with regret. I had great times with bri l l iant people. I ’ ve had messages from players that I had to release 18 months ago. They know I was always trying to push them to be better.
“I wanted to experience it. For one reason or another it came to an end but I’m not going to cry about it.
“I’ve had three manager’s jobs now and the pressure was always there to win.
“Stephen Robinson was under pressure to win before me.
“Gerrard is under pressure to win at Rangers. That’s the nature of the beast.
“We put ourselves under pressure. If it wasn’t there, I’d be a bit def lated and bored. We want that edge. It can go overboard and it’s not fair.
“But you have to take the rough with the smooth.
“A lot of the stuff on the Sky programme was going on while I wasn’t in the room.
“I steered clear of it. I want to be a football manager, not a TV star or anything like that.
“I didn’t want to be part of a soap or a documentary.”
So how would he feel about a f ly- on-the-wall documentary at Fir Park?
Alexander wouldn’t be keen.
Having replaced Robinson, he knows only sheer graft will get the club out of their perilous position near the bottom of the Premiership table.
He said: “If they’re handled right, these programmes can be well balanced.
“I watched the Hearts one on BBC and considering they were getting relegated, it gave a good insight on the inner workings of a football club.
“It’s a different environment in Scotland, it certainly is at Motherwell.
“This is a different scenario for me now at Motherwell. It’s str ipped back to basics.
“It’s managing players, talking to the press, winning games of football. It’s normal – if that’s the word.
“At Salford I knew the pressure would be ridiculous, but before I came to Well I turned down three jobs because I never want to just drift along. I always want to chase the next thing.
“I got that instilled in me in my career and it never left. I wanted to learn again, improve again – you need that stimulus to bring out the best in you.”