‘Everybody thinks that they can be a manager until they become one’
MELLON HAS SYMPATHY FOR STAND-IN KENNEDY
WHEN it comes to managerial experience, Micky Mellon counts in blocks of one hundred. The First 100 Days, a book co-authored by the Dundee United boss and head teacher Phil Denton, is due on sale later this month and will depict the importance of a manager’s first months in office. The text is instructed by his own frontline coaching career, one that has carried him nearly 600 games deep, and also shares insight from an array of coaching luminaries.
Careful not to patronise his opposite number ahead of a big game, he politely declines to offer any advice to Celtic’s interim chief John Kennedy, taking charge for only the second time at Tannadice this afternoon.
However, should Kennedy seek any tips, he will find printed contributions from the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola contained in Mellon’s forthcoming publication.
‘Everybody thinks they can be a manager until they are one,’ smiles Mellon.
‘That is why I sympathise when I see all the others having to deal with the stuff that comes our way.
‘Until you step into the manager’s shoes and you are there as the man who is held responsible for everything, you wouldn’t understand. It is an incredible responsibility but one you have to find a way to enjoy and, at the same time, win games. ‘That is what it is all about and I am sure John is finding that now. I am glad that I am a wee bit more used to it now. It is a tough job.
‘It has been an unbelievable journey with a lot of good times. I am sure John is enjoying his crack at it but we are about Dundee United, we have to go and enjoy the game and try and get a result.’ Kennedy’s journey to this point has been no overnight success, given that it started when injury forced his premature playing retirement in his mid-20s.
Now 37, Kennedy remains youthful for the job but, listening to Mellon, he will only improve by accruing the sort of experiences that cannot be lectured on any coaching course or, dare it be said, accounted for in a well-meaning publication.
Himself 48, Glaswegian Mellon started out at Fleetwood Town and counted Jamie Vardy among his charges as he transformed the club from non-league to an established Football League operation.
‘I don’t think when you are playing you ever really think about being a manager. I think you get to a stage in life and a stage in your career where the opportunities open up for you,’ adds Mellon.
‘You deal with the good times and the bad, just keep learning and going on. That is what I have done all through my career and I have had some magnificent times as a manager, winning at Wembley and all sorts of things. I have managed some unbelievable players.
‘Long may that continue. I am just trying to use my experience to help this group of Dundee United players be as successful as they can be.’
After stints at Barnsley, Shrewsbury Town and Tranmere Rovers, Mellon entered the realm of Scottish football for the first time in his professional life.
He’s been pleasantly surprised by the standard and, especially, the competitive edge to games in the Premiership.
‘People always ask me where I would suggest the Scottish Premiership would fit in
England and it’s a difficult one to answer,’ he says.
‘I’ve tried to do that for recruitment purposes here at United but it’s difficult to gauge.
‘England is so vast, with so many teams and so many different levels.
‘Certainly, I think the product in Scotland is a lot better than perhaps we give it credit for. It’s tough. The games are always well-balanced.
‘I’ve never worked in the English Premier League, but I’ve worked in the Championship, and the difference there is that in every team you probably have three players capable of making an impact in the (English) Premier League.
‘That makes games very different, because you’ve got game-changers that can cause damage.
‘In Scotland, I don’t think we have as many of those elite players in every team.
‘Every week, people ask me how I think it’s going to go, and I always say it will be tight, because it always is. It will be in the detail that games are decided.
‘But it’s certainly a much better product and there’s a much better standard of player than we sometimes give ourselves credit for.’
Celtic are a natural exception, with Odsonne Edouard the most obvious example of a player destined to operate at elite level.
Yet there has been a vulnerability about the outgoing champions that gives Mellon encouragement that his team can get a result today. He adds: ‘We will definitely be having a go. We will be on the front foot because we believe we can cause Celtic problems.
‘Celtic will try and play from the back and try and get it into those good players and in dangerous area.
‘The split reminds me a wee bit of the play-offs in England where you’re trying to get into a different tournament, a play-off situation where you play each other again.
‘So, I’ve done that many times in my career. I don’t think you should ever feel you are assured as a manager. You should always be trying to get better all the time.’