Grounds for real optimism as the boss tweaks his Rockliffe set-up
WHEN Chris Wilder was appointed boss in November, he wasted no time in identifying the areas he wanted to improve - and that was not just on the pitch.
The manager was quick to point out he wanted to make alterations at Rockliffe.
They were minor tweaks rather than a major revamp of Boro’s HQ.
The training base is now 23 years old but is still very much a feather in Boro’s cap and every transfer window new signings talk of how they were blown away by the club’s facilities.
Wilder, though, identified a couple of areas he felt could be improved and the boss believes the tinkering inside the training complex will result in improvements on the pitch.
That is why work to make alterations to the training ground was earmarked for early in the summer so it was finished for when the players returned for the start of pre-season.
What greeted the players when they reported back to Rockliffe last month was a new-look video analysis room.
Video analysis is crucial to Wilder and his coaching staff, who dish out individual clips to players before and after games to be studied.
The staff and the players also closely analyse other teams who play a similar style to Boro, so they can perfect their own approach.
Wilder said: “We’ve revamped the video analysis room. We do a lot of work now on analysis from matches and then watching videos with individual players which helps make them better. We’ve made it a proper auditorium now.
“That stuff is huge now and I have to say credit to the players, they get all their clips from games and they want to go through them.
“Young players want to improve and we’re seeing that go off more and more at the club and it starts through the academy and how they’re getting taught at that level now.
“They’re taught by video analysis and all this touch-screen technology, so it’s about making sure we can offer that too.
“We can learn as a coaching staff as well because we’re watching.
“We’re watching teams who play in a similar way to us and we can watch what they do and I think it’s all part of the process of continuing to move forward.”
Wilder has also had a rejig upstairs at Rockliffe, altering the lay-out to ensure the staff are all together in one large area.
He added: “As staff we were all spread out around Rockliffe,.
“Recruitment was down here, we were up there etc. Everyone was sort of dotted all over the building.
“So we’ve made the canteen a bit smaller and opened the office up so
we can all be in one area - the coaching staff, the recruitment staff, the medical staff, Neil Bausor, Kieran Scott.
“We’re all in one area and for me that’s important because we can constantly communicate about different things instead of just being when you arrange your meetings.
“We’ve always tried to work in a way of having staff inclusivity.
“Listen, there isn’t any ground-breaking stuff going on and we’re not spending huge money on it.
“If we do get up, it’s different then. You can do whatever you want really and I’m sure they will. It just needed some touchingup really.”
Most managers have a trusted team of backroom lieutenants who follow the boss from club to club. Wilder is no different..
When he joined Boro, he brought with him the excellent Alan Knill.
Knill has been a manager in the past, indeed Wilder was previously his assistant but the now Boro No.2 excels in the deputy role.
Matt Prestridge, who worked with Wilder at Northampton and Sheffield United, joined him at Boro in a role which combines coaching and sports science, while Mike Allen also arrived last season as performance analyst.
There has been a coach arrival this summer, of course, in the form of Alan Fettis.
Boro succeeded where plenty of other clubs have failed in tempting the goalkeeper coach away from the mighty Manchester United.
What Wilder did not want to do when he arrived and hasn’t since, however, is completely rip up the excellent core of staff already in place at the club.
He wanted to tap into the expertise of long-term staff members such as head physio Chris Moseley and analyst Phil Hudson.
Frankie Hunter plays a key role in the sports science department, while the return of Nick Allamby, previously head of sports science at the club, was a major boost.
Wilder said: “Everybody has their own lane and their speciality or expertise. The staff here, I have to say, are first class.
“I walked in at Sheffield United and there was the manager and three coaches just locked in a little room away from everyone else. Here it was exactly the same.
“I prefer to have more interaction with the wider backroom staff because that’s just how I prefer to work.
“There are qualities already here aand I want people to feel a part of a success story and feel wanted and able to bring what they can to the table.
“We might not always agree on everything and ultimately, as the manager, I have to make the big decision at the end of everything.
“However, there are so many good people at this club.