Martin has the ability to inspire his players
INEVER played under Martin O’Neill at Celtic. But from what I was told during my time in Scotland, the players at Nottingham Forest will love it.
I was signed in July 2005, a month after Martin had resigned to care for his wife. Gordon Strachan, the new manager, was busy trying to get the O’Neill philosophy out of the club, as most new managers do.
He’d inherited a lot of players loyal to Martin; Chris Sutton, John Hartson, Bobo Balde, Neil Lennon. Big, successful names who’d got Celtic to a UEFA Cup final.
All of them said Martin’s man-management skills were second to none; that he knew exactly how to look after his players and trusted them with his life.
He relied on his personalities to marshal the dressing room. Out on the training ground, he trusted his coaches to get on with their jobs.
Training wasn’t… difficult is the wrong word, but there were a lot of five-a-sides, daft games and things like that. They loved it.
That changed with Strachan, who was very structured and hands-on. From my experience, he wanted to be involved in everything from the warm-up to the cool down.
Support
It was similar to Gus Poyet during my time at Brighton. Gus had Charlie Oatway and Mauricio Taricco as his assistants, but they were just there for help and support, really. Every tiny aspect of training went through Gus.
The closest I’ve had to someone like Martin was Steve Coppell. He very rarely took training himself.
There was little hill at the edge of the pitch which he’d stand on and watch us from afar. He was quiet and just sort of hovered around the place. You’d speak when you were spoken to – kind of like a headmaster rather than a teacher.
With most managers, you know if they don’t like you or if they prefer certain personalities. Steve was an enigma. You never knew what he was thinking, so you always had to be on your guard.
Personally, I preferred a manager who was constantly at you. It’s just my personality – I needed someone on me all the time to keep me focussed. I also wanted to know where I stood.
But Nathan Jones, the current Stoke boss, played under Coppell and absolutely loved it. He respected the trust that Steve gave us and thrived on it. So it works both ways.
What it does mean in the case of Martin is that his trusty assistant Roy Keane will be heavily involved with the players.
I think people look at Martin and Roy and think ‘How on earth does that work?’ One is an expert man-manager. The other likes to upset people and chuck grenades around.
But they’ve got results. Under Martin and Roy, the Republic of Ireland got to the Euros, and beat Italy to make the knockout round. They were a play-off away from reaching the World Cup. And they didn’t have Robbie Keane to call on by then, either. Could a country the size of Ireland really ask for any more?
Upset
You saw from the reaction of James McClean when he was sacked that Martin hasn’t lost his touch with players. The Stoke winger was clearly upset. Only recently I was speaking to Robbie Savage, who played under Martin in that great Leicester side of the late 90s. Those players loved working for him and all feel he was the man who dragged the best from them. OK, so he’s not managed in the Football League for 20-odd years. He hasn’t been a club manager since 2013. I can see why it’s perceived as a risk. But he’s got the players. He’s got the type of experienced old pros he loves in Lewis Grabban and Daryl Murphy. He’s got the finances. Above all, he’s got that ability to get players onside, a trait that is vital in the modern game – as Jose Mourinho found to his cost. Forest are in a great position to push on for the play-offs.