THERE’S NO TIME TO REST ON YOUR LAURELS
TONY Mowbray had every right to blow his own trumpet after last weekend’s tactical masterclass in victory over Leeds.
His Blackburn side found every weak point in the leaders’ armour and exploited them all. The 2-1 result did not flatter them.
Yet having explained in detail how he and his staff had dissected reams of footage, he added a telling caveat.
“We had an international break to prepare,” said the former Celtic boss. “It gave us two weeks to watch Leeds play, to come up with gameplans. Now I’ve got two days to prepare for Swansea…”
The unspoken implication was that things wouldn’t be so easy at the Liberty Stadium, and they weren’t; Rovers lost 3-1.
Which just goes to show what a thankless task every EFL manager has. Sure, you can take your coaching badges. You can go to Warwick Business School and earn a certificate in Football Management. You can visit Melwood and La Masia.
But then the games come at you like tennis balls out of a spitfire machine. It’s like training to be a surgeon and then being told you’ve got half an hour to perform a heart transplant.
That’s why the Championship is so gloriously unpredictable. Nobody is complaining. Still, it does make you appreciate how much easier managers in the top flight have it.