Ian Holloway’s Djokovic love

Making a flying start to the season is always preferable, says FFT’S columnist – but don’t get too disheartened if the wheels start slowly. Lots of factors combine in these busy summers... and plenty have turned it around

There’s a bit of a cliché each year that you need a good start to a new season. Of course it’s always nice – common sense says it’s better, to build confidence.

It makes people want to join you; to be part of what you’re building. It isn’t vital, but it’s what everyone is aiming for. You want a good pre- season to get everyone fit without injuries, and then you assess your squad until that first window slams shut.

Some teams have proved it wrong though, haven’t they? Just look at Norwich a few years ago, who won one of their first six games and then went on to be magnificent; Bolton didn’t start well last year either, but ended up being brilliant.

At Blackpool, we drew first our four games in the season we went up – but I knew we were getting closer to what I wanted. We were playing towards that level early on and then beat Wigan, a Premier League side, 4- 1 in the cup. That catapulted us into believing, and we won three or four after that.

It’s about getting your messages across as early as you possibly can. Obviously it helps if you win, because then the team believes they’ve been rewarded for what they’re doing. It’s also about your conviction, and sticking to what you know and believe in. I watched Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final recently; the other fella was brilliant, but Djokovic just kept in his own head. It’s the same in all sports – you need the ones who are mentally prepared. But results, whether you deserve them or not, don’t half help. I found that out at Palace – eight games is all I had in the end after we went up to the Premier League in 2013. The window had just shut and they asked me, “Could you keep us up?” I said I didn’t know – I hadn’t done it before, but believed that I could. Today’s game is ‘ produce, or you’re out’.

I generally got my teams off to a decent start after pre- season – even at Grimsby, when we came back after a lay- off late last year and got seven points from our first three games. Momentum gradually grows if you’re consistent, but you need time for that which isn’t necessarily given to you these days.

Pre- season is a really huge part of your year, followed by those first five or six games. As a manager, I enjoyed it because you weren’t being judged. Rather than loads of friendlies, I liked getting my players on the grass and taking them away for a week or so, training them three times a day away from their families. It’s amazing what you can do in that time, proving to your players what they’re capable of.

It’s good to get your new signings in as early as you can, because you need time to fail. That sounds a bit mad, but you need time to get things wrong so you can eventually do them right. If you’ve got a new signing who hits the ground running and knows what you want, that’s fantastic – but how many times does it happen? Bruno Fernandes looked like he was born at Manchester United, but that isn’t the case very often. Sometimes you’re doing business late in the window, waiting for that vital piece. Fans want it done early, though, as it gives them something to talk about down the pub. I was waiting for my main targets at Grimsby last season, but they never happened; we missed out on Theo Robinson and it didn’t help us at all. It was very unusual for me and I wasn’t comfortable with it.

Seeing them relegated in the end really hurt, because the fans were fantastic. Unfortunately the influence of their new owners hasn’t been felt yet, and now they have to get out of the National League again. My team Bristol Rovers have also gone down to League Two this season, so I’m hoping they also have some joy this year and fulfil their potential under Joey Barton.

We all deserve a bit of something this season. Hopefully we’ll come out of this pandemic stronger, and realising what’s important to us. I know what that is for me: people, and time spent with them. Football is about those people, and the wonderful determination and sacrifices they show for their clubs – whether it’s working all hours so they can afford to travel the country watching them, or maybe volunteering on matchdays. Seeing them all back where they belong will be special.

“IN BLACKPOOL’S PROMOTION SEASON, WE DREW OUR FIRST FOUR GAMES – BUT I KNEW WE WERE CLOSE TO WHAT I WANTED”