Rookie Woodgate shows gratitude to the old school
Middlesbrough manager explains to Luke Edwards how he learnt from his past coaches
There is no book that tells you how to become one of the finest defenders of your generation, just as there is no manual to guide you through the formative years of your management career, yet Jonathan Woodgate gives the impression he has read both.
As a player, Woodgate was the master of anticipation, a centreback who once said a last-ditch tackle was nothing to be proud of because it meant you had not been in the right position to deal with the threat more easily.
Now a rookie manager of his hometown club, Middlesbrough, where he spent two spells as a player, Woodgate is learning just as fast in the dugout as he did when thrust into the first team as an 18-year-old at Leeds United.
It has not been an easy education. A young team, with a young manager, only won three times from the start of the season to the end of November. They even dipped into the bottom three before Christmas and some people felt Woodgate would be sacked.
Owner Steve Gibson, however, was not one of them and his faith in Woodgate was rewarded with a marked upturn in fortunes, with
Boro putting together a run of results since Dec 7 that has seen them lose just twice in their last nine Championship games. They also took Tottenham Hotspur to a replay in the FA Cup third round during that period.
“For me, this is the best job I could have asked for,” said Woodgate, dressed in tracksuit and trainers, still looking as fit and lean as he did as a player.
“My hometown club, probably one of the best owners in English football. When things were tough, he [Gibson] would pick up the phone, talk to me and tell me to keep going. You don’t get many as supportive as him.”
Woodgate is one of a number of high-profile former players who have recently gone into management. None chose to because they needed the money, and Woodgate is not afraid to give his reasons.
“I had three weeks out and they were the worst three weeks of my life,” he said. “Every day, I hated it. I was so bored. I hate being bored. I was all over the place. It was not a good time … staring down the precipice … what the rest of my life was going to be like without football.
“A lot of people struggle with that, I had it for three weeks and I know why. It wasn’t the lack of football, it was not working, that’s what I hated. I’m just one of those people. I can’t stand doing nothing … I like being busy, if I hadn’t played football, it would be the same. I need work.
“In those three weeks, there was one question in my head. What are you going to do with the rest of your life? It wasn’t nice, I’ve got friends who have struggled, it was very important for me to get back in and fast.”
Fortunately, he did not have to wait long. Liverpool asked him to scout players in Portugal and Spain and then came the call from Gibson, asking him to work in the club’s academy.
It was there that Tony Pulis, the manager, spotted something. He recommended Woodgate replaced him at the end of last season.
They still speak regularly, although it was not Pulis or Gibson who got him through a run of one win in 13 games in that dark period earlier in the season.
“We were going through a very difficult patch,” Woodgate explained. “Every time I was driving to work … it was tough, it was difficult, but I would be like, OK, let’s get on with it.
“As soon as I walked through the doors, that was it, upbeat, positive, confident. If I had my face on the ground, everyone would have their faces on the ground.
“I knew everyone was looking, and my mood defined the mood of the training ground. That was an important test and a very useful lesson. We got through that period, we came out the other side and we are on a good run.
“Now we have different challenges, we haven’t cracked it, let’s not get carried away with ourselves. There will be tough spells ahead, but I’ve come through one before and I’ll come through again.
“I’ll be positive. That just comes naturally to me. I was like that as a player, that’s how I coped with the injuries and all the other negative things that happen.
“I’ve always been like it … not as a kid, no. Actually, I was more unsure of myself growing up; shy. I was nervous as a kid. I grew into this person. The better I got at football, the more I grew as a person. The two went together, the more I played, the better I got and the better I got, the more confident and positive I became.”
Some of that is self taught, but when you understand who Woodgate enjoyed playing for most, you grasp where he is coming from. He only spent six months at Newcastle United with Sir Bobby Robson, but it left a lasting impression.
“At Newcastle, I probably played my best football because I had a manager who believed in me,” he explained. “He gave me so much confidence, he made me believe I was a top, top player. He got me the move to Real Madrid.
“His man-management skills were just absolutely phenomenal. He would build you up, speak highly of you in press conferences, in meetings, in the dressing room, in his office. Back then, my mum and dad used to collect everything that was written about me in the papers and my father would ring me and say, ‘Have you seen what Robson has said about you, son?’ Things like that stayed with me.