STAYING AFLOAT IN THE DEEP END
Rodgers had it tough as a rookie coach too and tips Cathro to succeed
It always comes back to your age. That is shone on you for every decision
BRENDAN RODGERS will never forget standing in the full glare of football’s scorn and scepticism. A rookie coach in his thirties, with no senior playing background to boast of, he won only two of his first 10 games as a manager with Watford.
He can empathise with all the discomfort sampled by Ian Cathro since he stepped into the Hearts dugout.
Today, the Celtic manager will look across at the away technical area and perhaps spy a little of the trepidation he could not afford to betray in November 2008 when, he admits, leaving a comfort zone of coaching the youth game for the deep end was a massive culture shock.
Rodgers was 35, and had been coaching since his enforced retirement at the age of 20, when he was plucked from Chelsea’s reserve team to replace Aidy Boothroyd at the Championship strugglers.
Compared to Cathro’s ascent to a top post in Scottish club football, that route seems conventional.
So Rodgers believes the 30-year-old Hearts head coach will be experiencing one of the harshest learning curves the game can offer in the opening months of his managerial career.
‘It always came back to your age — that will be something that is shone on
you for every decision,’ said Rodgers. ‘So you have to believe in what you are doing. It’s tough at the beginning. There’s no doubt about that.
‘You don’t come in with a big playing background, so there’s nothing there to protect you. That makes your journey much harder. You have to earn respect in a different way.
‘If you’ve been a great player, the minute you walk into the changing room you get instant respect. But after two weeks, the modern player asks: “Well, what are you going to do for me?”.
‘Now, when you go in without that, then it’s going to take a bit longer. But ultimately, through your experiences, how you communicate, how you coach, and your behaviour with players, you can get that respect.
‘People judge you entirely on the quality of football and your results. If they are not instant, it can be difficult.’
Rodgers succeeded so spectacularly in hoisting Watford well clear of the relegation zone, following his period of adjustment, that Reading poached him to be their boss after just 192 days in charge at Vicarage Road.
That served as a slap in the face for the old-school derision which came the way of the novice Rodgers, something Cathro’s cheerleaders would love to land on the chin of his detractors if the Tynecastle rookie can see out the storm of his turbulent early weeks at the helm.
Rodgers said: ‘That’s the mentality, isn’t it? If there’s a new one coming, we like to knock them in this country. It’s a tough business. I’m sure Ian is learning very quickly. It’s totally different to being the guy in that second or third position.
‘He will get better and better over time. There is stuff you have to deal with that you never thought would be part of being a head coach. From what I see, he will cope very well. It took me a while at Watford. Then the players turned on to the ideas and adapted.
‘We were meant to go down that year but we grew and grew and, in the end, we were flying and the season ended too early. It’s about getting time, it’s experience, it’s staying with your beliefs. And you will be fine.
‘Robbie (Neilson) did a very good job (at Hearts). He moved on. Ian will want to pass on his concepts to his players. That will take time. A different voice, a different way of working. It is always the case.’
Rodgers is impressed by a glance at Cathro’s CV, which informs that he soaked up the football scenes of Portugal and Spain, with stints on the backroom staff at Rio Ave and Valencia, before working alongside Steve McClaren then Rafa Benitez at Newcastle.
‘It might be against the grain but the more experiences you have, the different cultures you are thrown into, it improves you,’ said the former Liverpool boss. ‘There’s no template for being a manager. Some choose to manage and have coaches. Some, like myself, are coaching managers.
‘There are different ways to do it and he will have his own ways. Ian has made coaching, like I did, his profession. That’s his life. He’s had the bravery and courage to take different steps, come off the path of what is the norm and go on a different journey. That will have given him great experiences, a chance to see the game in a different way.
‘Great credit to Hearts, who have given him this opportunity. As head coach, he doesn’t need to worry so much about managing the club. It’s managing the changing room. You ultimately have to get the best out of your players.’
In seven attempts so far, only a 4-0 thrashing of Kilmarnock has shown Cathro’s work with his inheritance from Neilson in an encouraging light.
With a clutch of new signings, they edged past Raith at the second attempt in the Scottish Cup. And with a visit from Rangers, a trip to Motherwell then a Scottish Cup showdown with Hibernian looming, the spotlight on Cathro will only become more intense.
‘When I walked out in my first game at Vicarage Road, I had done every type of development I could as a coach,’ said Rodgers. ‘When the curtains went back, the light was shining on me that day. And nothing prepares you for that.
‘Now you have the responsibility of a city, the supporters. The eyes are on you. What you have to do is stick to your ideas, have good people you can go to. I am sure he will do very well.’