Jaap puts his stamp on Jules so Zac can star at the back
READING defender Zac Jules admits he couldn’t ask for a better manager and teacher than former Manchester United stopper Jaap Stam after he made his Scotland Under-21 debut last week. The giant 19-year-old was one of a host of youngsters promoted by Scot Gemmill for his first game in charge of the 21s in Reykjavik and will feature again in Tuesday’s last qualifier in Macedonia.
Scotland have suffered through the years because of a dearth of central defenders coming through and Jules has a chance to push for a place in the Scotland team in the future if he continues his progression at English Championship side Reading.
And he reckons he couldn’t get a better mentor than Dutch hard man Stam, who took charge of the club in the summer.
Jules said: ‘He took me on tour to Holland in pre-season with the first team and he made it clear that he wanted me to be with the first team permanently, to keep a close eye on me and have a massive input into my development.
‘He couldn’t guarantee me gametime playing every week for the first team, but he said if I ever need gametime he can put me down into the Under-23s, which has happened.
‘I’ve managed to get on to the bench once for the first team so far, so it’s just about pushing on now and hopefully I can break in and get my opportunity.
‘Having Jaap Stam as a role model is superb. He doesn’t look very approachable, but surprisingly he’s a very nice guy!
‘He’s easy to talk to and is very open. If you have any questions he’s always there and his door is always open to speak to him, so he’s been superb. He’s quite intimidating, but when you’re with him every day you get to know him and he’s a nice guy.
‘Jaap definitely wants me to be a bit more aggressive on the park. I’m not sure if I can be as aggressive as him, but I’ll give it a go!
‘He’s always giving me little bits of advice to improve my game and he suits me as well because I like to play football and he’s come in with his philosophy of keeping the ball on the ground as much as possible.
‘I think that’s why he took to me the first time he saw me.’
Jules has already been toughened up when he went on loan to National League South club Hemel Hempstead last season.
And he admitted his stint in the badlands of non-league English football was perfect for his development.
He recalled: ‘I was there for a two or three-month stint and that toughened me up a bit. That was a war zone!
‘It was good, though. At the time I wasn’t really getting much gametime in the Under-23s and there were a lot of boys that were in front of me at the time. ‘I had to get out for a couple of months to get a bit of game-time and it really helped me push on. I came back, started playing again, and this season I’ve kicked on tremendously.’ And Jules is confident Gemmill’s new influx of young blood will help the Under-21s because the group has tasted success before, when they reached the semi-finals of the Under-17s European Finals two years ago.
He pointed out: ‘At Under17 level we got to the semifinals of the European Championship. That was brilliant and we wanted to take that on to the Under-19s but unfortunately we never managed to make it.
‘But having Scot take the Under-21s job is superb, because we know what he’s after. He’s someone you want to work hard for, we want to do well for him because he’s such a nice guy and a brilliant coach. ‘The transition will be so much easier, especially with the boys who have come up from my age group, too, that I’ve played with before. ‘It will make it so much easier to settle in. The older boys, the more experienced boys, have been welcoming, too, so it’s superb.’