SMITH: GIVE OUR BOSSES A BREAK
THE competition is fierce, but Brentford manager Dean Smith believes young British managers could thrive in the Premier League – if they were given an opportunity.
While the old guard – the likes of Roy Hodgson, 70, Sam Allardyce, 63, and Alan Pardew, 56 – seem to waltz between jobs with ease, it’s proving far harder for their younger colleagues to get a look in.
Indeed, the best way for the new generation to get there is by earning promotion into the top-flight with the club they’re at, like Sean Dyche, 46, (Burnley) and Eddie Howe, 40, (Bournemouth).
“For a (young) British manager to get a job in the Premier League, you have to take a club up,” said Smith. “My job here is to take Brentford to the Premier League.
“Over half the clubs now are owned by foreign owners. There’s no pressure on them to employ British coaches.
“They are looking for the best coaches from around the world. When you are going globally, then there’s more of a pot to choose from.”
The likes of Bristol City’s Lee Johnson, 36, Sheffield United’s Chris Wilder, 50, and Derby’s Gary Rowett, 43, are just three Championship managers with the potential to reach the top tier.
And Smith believes this country’s largely unsung managers could shine if they were given a chance.
“I certainly believe they could do a good job there,” said the 46-year-old. “I would certainly like to see a few more getting the opportunity to see how well they could do, but, as I say, the pool is that big to choose from at the moment. The owners go for a lot of well-renowned coaches from abroad.”
But it’s not just in the Premier League where ambitious owners are looking for foreign talent. It’s becoming more usual in the Championship, too.
However, just as homegrown managers don’t always succeed, there are no guarantees that an overseas boss will have a Midas touch.
Hull’s decision to part company with Russian boss Leonid Slutsky last Sunday after just six months in charge shows that.
And Smith believes owners should be cautious if they’re thinking of appointing someone from abroad with no previous experience of the Championship.
“I think it’s very tough, I really do, especially the Championship because of the intensity and how quickly the games come. It’s Saturday-Tuesday, SaturdayTuesday, it’s a very quick turn around with the quality and intensity of the games.
“I moved here from League One (with Walsall) and saw a difference straightaway and that’s being in this country all my life!
“It’s very difficult. It takes a while for anybody to get their ideas across and unfortunately he’s lost his job.”
That’s not to say that a foreign manager can’t come in and succeed straight off the bat in the Championship. Portuguese manager Nuno Espirito Santo isn’t doing too badly at Wolves, is he?
“If you can buy players for £15m it certainly helps,” smiled Smith, “but Nuno has come over and done really well.
“They finished last season well and started where they left off. They have recruited really well and he’s been allowed to implement his style at the club. “I said when we played them at the end of August they were the best team we’ve played and I stand by that.
“They’re very good and there’s talk they could strengthen in January as well. That could make them really tough to play against.”
Having just completed two years at the Bees helm, Smith is now, incredibly, the fourth longest serving manager in the Championship, behind Mick McCarthy (Ipswich), Neil Harris (Millwall) and Carlos Carvalhal (Sheffield Wednesday).
“I’ve always said that I’m very fortunate with the club I chose to come to and wanted me at the time,” he said.
“I have never felt I’ve been surviving. We’re always building and planning and that’s been continuous since I’ve been here.
“We put pressure on each other to get better all the time and I feel this run at the moment (one defeat in 13 league games pre-weekend) is just reward for all the work we’ve done on and off the pitch.”
Indeed, some boards may have panicked after the Bees got off to a slow start in the Championship. Their patience is now being rewarded and the Bees went into yesterday’s game at Hull in 11th place, eight points off the play-offs.
“I feel that we’re under the radar,” he added. “After the next three games we are halfway there. We’ll assess where we’re at and what we need to do.
“We could have done better but our performances have been really consistent this season. I said to the players that if I looked back at the 20 teams we’ve played, I’m not sure there would be too many that would choose to play us again.”