I know what it’s like to start with nothing
From one of the Invincibles to bottom of league with Wigan, but Toure insists...
KOLO TOURE will forever be remembered as an Arsenal Invincible but it’s not a tag you could throw at his Wigan Athletic players.
Four games into his first management job and the popular Ivorian is bottom of the Championship and looking for his first win in tomorrow’s game against Hull City.
It’s 20 years ago that Toure arrived in Britain and he’s stayed ever since, enjoying a fabulous career with Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Celtic before learning the coaching game under Brendan Rodgers and taking the plunge at Wigan a month ago.
Some would consider the 41-yearold too affable to make it as a leader. However, they didn’t see him pointing, shouting and cajoling his players from the touchline in a 4-1 home defeat against Sunderland on Thursday night.
‘I see England as a land of opportunities,’ he says with a smile, three defeats in a row not yet dampening his mood. ‘When I first came here, it was a different world. I had no family. I had to find my way.
‘It took time, I had to learn. I made mistakes. There were people who wanted to help me and people who wanted to take advantage.
‘But I love the English mentality. It’s a country where people give you a chance no matter where you come from as long as you do the job well. I have been working with one of the top mangers, Brendan, learning coaching. Wigan is my opportunity. I knew it was going to be tough but I am a positive guy and I care about the club.’
Toure played with some true superstars like Thierry Henry, Sergio Aguero and Steven Gerrard. No disrespect to Wigan but he’s having to work at a different level now
even though there is talent, from Norwegian under-20 international Thelo Aasgaard to nine-goal Will Keane, once of Manchester United.
One thing he promises is not to hark on about his glory days. Winning the Premier League with Arsenal and City and reaching a Champions League final is not always relevant when you’re trying to avoid a return to League One, 12 months after Wigan were promoted.
‘I don’t talk about my old clubs. My players have their own journeys,’ he says firmly. ‘They only have to do what they can, the best they can. I don’t get frustrated. You have to be patient, you have to educate them.
‘This is a new journey for me but I am not scared of challenges. I will take it on, fight and never give up. It hurts to lose games but the scores have not reflected the matches.’
There are some famous faces in Championship dug-outs these days; Vincent Kompany, Paul Ince, Michael Carrick and Slaven Bilic among them. But arguably none attracts greater affection than Toure. Even 4,000 travelling Sunderland fans last week were happy to sing the Kolo-Yaya Toure tune to the opposition manager.
However, Toure is aware that affection doesn’t buy points. Having gone through the entire 2003/04 season unbeaten with Arsenal, he’ll hope his first win of 2023 comes sooner rather than later after a barren end to 2022.