The real Teale
To LIAM SEPHTON chats former Wigan and Derby his winger Gary Teale about career and plans for the future…
FORMER Scotland international Gary Teale enjoyed a large amount of success as a player, achieving promotion with his first four clubs along with winning the Scottish Cup with St Mirren and Kirin Cup with Scotland.
The winger began his career at Scottish pair Clydebank and Ayr United before joining Wigan Athletic in England’s third tier for an initial £275,000.
With two promotions in three seasons along with a League Cup runners-up medal, his most successful period came whilst at Wigan where he made almost 200 appearances in six years at the Lancashire side.
“One thing that people in football say is that you only have acquaintances because personnel change so quickly nowadays, but that wasn’t true for me at Wigan,” he said.
“With the success on the pitch and the good times off it we had over several years, the bond we had will always be there for me.
“Promotion to the Premier League was the ultimate, but for the chairman (Dave Whelan) to then throw in a week’s holiday in Barbados for all the players and backroom staff was a fantastic bonus.
“Golf in the morning, jet skis in the afternoon and a few beers in the evening – Barbados was brilliant.”
Teale’s managerial career has thus far seen him in caretaker charge of St Mirren for the second half of their 2014-15 SPL campaign that saw the Paisley side rooted to the foot of the table from the beginning.
Since then the boyhood Rangers fan has been searching for a managerial role alongside completing his coaching badges.
Having applied for vacant managerial jobs at Raith Rovers and Queen of the South, failing to secure either, Teale’s story is testament to how difficult it is for many former players to get onto the managerial ladder.
However, he says he won’t be stubborn about his playing style when the chance does come.
“People on coaching courses are always talking about their own philosophy and how they would ideally like football to be played,” he said.
“For me, when you go into a managerial role – no matter what club you’re at – you will need to adapt to that situation.
“Every team’s players have different qualities; you’re never going to get a blank canvas to work with from the start. As time goes on, there lies more of an opportunity to do things the way you’d like to – playing from the back for example.
“I’d rather be a lucky manager than a good manager! Results dictate what you do and don’t do in management.”
Teale was quick to respond when asked which former player he’d like as his assistant in the future, with ex-Leicester City Under-21s coach and current Coventry City development coach Nicky Eaden being number one choice.
“I’d go for Nicky purely due to what he’s doing in the game just now,” he said.“I had a good relationship with him on the pitch: him playing right-back and me right-wing at Wigan.With me being a forward-thinking player, I’d always look to have my assistant as someone who was a more defensive player.” The 38-year-old is full of admiration for his former Wigan and Derby manager Paul Jewell and will look to take some of what he has learned from him into man- agement.
“I remember Paul Jewell would say to us: football is a simple game complicated by idiots,” he said.“Repetition was key; knowing the game plan and knowing your role in the side.
“The thing that really struck me about him was the standards he set.Whatever we did in training, whether that be running, smallsided games or whatever, he’d make sure there was a forfeit – and that would usually contain running as well.
“I’ll follow Paul’s way of getting my teams as fit as possible. If they’re as fit as they can be, then for 95 minutes in a match you can be confident in a game plan and not be forced into changing things around because of fatigue.”