Ole on Ronaldo helping sign Bruno, Rebuilding the Culture at Man Utd | High Performance Podcast

hi there I'm Jake comfrey and you're listening to high-performance the podcast that delves into the minds of some of the most successful athletes visionaries entrepreneurs and artists on the planet and aims to unlock the very secrets to their success as always Damon Hughes is alongside me and Damian we're lucky enough to be at the place that has cultivated and improved the players that you've cheered as a Manchester United over the years I think this is an episode that you're going to enjoy oh yeah I've got I've been looking forward to this for a long time visit we're in the home of Champions so I'm looking forward to finding out a little bit more about what makes a champion brilliant I wish I could say the same about Norwich City but there you go yet today we are the Manchester United training ground Carrington talking to a man who as I'm sure you know scored one of Manchester United's most famous ever goals he now leads them as a manager but what did he learn here as a player under Sir Alex Ferguson what are the good things that have happened in his career that he's learned from and the bad as well how does he take individuals and lead them to collective glory and what can you listen to this podcast learned from him to live a more high-performance life welcome to the podcast all Egan associa thank you very much pleasure to be here listen to you before so where might as well join in good so you've listened to the pod what do you think well I like to listen to champions I like to listen and know a little bit more about what makes winners tick of course and obviously being a man United manager now previous player I've always tried to make the most of my my talents and this is an opportunity for me to to learn off some some good ones and I suppose it also leads to the fact that despite everything you've achieved as a player and as a manager in the fact that you're now in charge of one of the biggest clubs in the world you're someone that thinks you could still keep learning still keep improving yeah I think so I think everyone can learn all the time and that's what I learned when I came here as a as a player as well that players like David Beckham Roy Keane Paul's golf they always wanted to improve and be better because the day I think so anyway I believe so hit the day you think you're you're to finish out or you're the real deal I think that's when you you go downwards and I'm always trying to improve myself and the club and the players so we always start with the same question which is in your mind what is high-performance making the best out of the potential and I the us an individual or us as a team or the club as a whole I think high performance is knowing when you when you leave the door that you've done everything you can to to stay at the top so where did that lesson come from I like that I know you dad was a wrestling a successful wrestler yeah well he says so anyway but how will they did that lesson of of getting everything out of your potential starts with drop with you well I think I've always actually not always that's maybe wrong but I've always been willing to learn humble enough to to try to improve and I never thought about myself as one of the best most talented ones so I had to find other ways to make the most of my talent and that stayed with me all the time I think during my time at closing and molder and then here at Man United and as a manager as well so when you end up here at Manchester United as a player and you openly admit you didn't feel like you were one of the most talented ones how do you have a mindset of not being over awed by the talent around you and thinking to yourself right I'm going to take on the strikers around me as a challenge to be better well it's a fine balance between being humble and being quietly confident believe in yourself enough I think I was quiet quietly confident guy and then believing in my own abilities I knew I had an X Factor of scoring goals and that was my forte but I will also humble enough to try to learn from Andy Cole Eric Cantona Ryan Giggs David Beckham any any all the players got different call it attributes and qualities and well for me it's that's that's the secret to be confident enough to trust yourself all the time but always also humble enough to work hard and that's instilled into us from from early on Plus from Sir Alex so when you arrived then from Norway and you first came in so what would have been the cliff at the time what was what was the biggest difference to the stroke eeeh in those early days well for me I just played with better players I that meant I got more opportunities to score goals and yeah of course there were better opponents as well but early on in my life I I was quite good at imagining and living living the life of side so the goal I scored against Bayern Munich for example I'd scored hundreds or maybe thousands of times before on the field back home on my own going through one on one imagining if I score now if I hit the bottom corner I'll win the Champions League or a euro yeah their European Cup as it was called when I was young so it was just to push my I always I've always loved creating my own atmosphere and then testing myself so when I came here it-it's like well just do you do the things that you've always done what you've learned but do him a bit quicker but my finish is weird bottom corners arena SAF it was the best keeper when I grew up he wouldn't even save my finishes even when I was fifteen that doesn't that was my mindset practice us it was a cup final so it was so was it like visualization that you know like sports psychologists now talk about the importance of visualization will you did anyone teach you that or was that just something you'd learn and then you kept it was just in in me I was so keen and watching football and I saw goals being scored and I saw keepers making saves and but there's an opening there and if it hit the top corner or bottom corner he's got no chance and I I still believe that there's no such thing as a good save it's just a bad finish yeah but there's so many times Sir Alex and it used to bug me big time in training that he shouted hit the target make the goalkeeper and make a mistake when I missed the target but as soon as that ball left my foot I knew if it's a good finish or a bad finish and if you just hit the post and I out I knew that just a slight millimeter to the left or to the right on my boot would make that ball go in so quietly in my mind I said shut up you I know what I'm doing and that that will go in on Saturday you don't I like about that as well as that even at a young age that's you taking 100% responsibility for yourself because I think all too often let's take football as the as the lesson here young guys will go well I did all right but the coal keeper was brilliant whereas in your head you're saying if that goalkeeper saves it I'm the one that's failed and I do love you were at that young age you were taking full responsibility for yourself yeah and I truly believe that as well that's it it was always down to me that finish and as I said before my teammates were so much better I created chances by my movement and a new David Beckham is gonna put the cross in and then I'm just ready to finish and if he saved it most of it I have this actually one time no no twice twice won in my testimony all the Espanola goalkeeper made a save you should have just let that go a testimonial he'd never read the script but this one say from jens lehmann at Arsenal down in the bottom corner he saves and I'm like wow what a save but when I look at it maybe I could have put it more in the corner where did that come from did your parents instill in you a mindset of being responsible for yourself definitely it's from probably more from my dad as he was a an athlete himself he was actually picked for the Norwegian national team wrestling before my grandma and granddad knew that he doing wrestling so he did it sneakily so he wrestled and he just he was up to him yeah it was it is think more about wrestling is that why he was doing it in secret ha no he just never told him right he's just so he was I don't know if he was allowed to but anyway hits he always instilled into me that mindset of it's up to me it's me it depends on me I can't have any excuses I can't blame the coach it's just yourself and because there was one time and that's the only time I remember my dad looking a bit angry I came home I had a party stayed up a little bit late and I just got home early in the morning to wake get up to training and go straight to training and he just had a little with his cup of coffee little glance when I came in I said do you think this is a way to become the top athlete and that that was that's a one comment I remember that he really liked he's right it's really sorry how old were you then when it's out 18 I must have been because a drunk all right maybe 19 actually so what are you like now as a manager with your players that look for fault rather than take responsibility how do you deal with that well I don't there's for me there's if the players blame others that's taken I'll give him a chance of course you'd like to give people a chance to to learn and try to realize that they're in the wrong but I don't want any place blaming others and no I don't want any blame culture here because I think they all deep down no it's it depends on them yeah how do you how do you remove any blame culture what's your process to that well quietly because he they just gradually end up not playing and being out of the club I'm not the ram dealer or a raver and say if you don't effing change that I'm like quietly tick off behind me here okay let's have a look let's have a look next game if he makes the same mistake again or if he blames other people again and in the end you just gradually wean them off is that an expert how does that sit Damien with the conversation we had with Sean earlier on where he said he makes sure he tells the players every single thing he's a New England rugby league manager and he said I tell the players exactly what I want because then if they don't give it to me then I can get rid of them legitimately well I think that there's a I think Allah is making this distinction here between the technical and attitudinal responses so I think what Sean was saying was if the players make a technical mistake he takes accountability I've not coached and well enough if it's a case of they've not run back or they have not worked hard enough that's on them the responsibility comes down pletely agreed that's it that's a decision that's a that's an attitude they because you can always make a decision to do not run back it's easy not to to run back yeah but that's your decision and that's that we don't want those types of players and if a player misses a chance or a misses a penalty of course they don't do that on purpose I can't shout and runt if they do that but I can prove my point if they keep on making decisions that go against our framework or principles or the way we want to play style of play and if they blatantly say well I'm not running for you you ten orders you work and I I'm just waiting so that's that's it so if I can pick up on that I remember you tell me a story years ago when you when you were the reserve team coach and you were and you spoke Danny Welbeck and one of the things that impressed you was that he would stay behind and help the coaches collect the balls and after shooting practice and you'd spell that indicated that he was a team player it was awful of other people so what would you say the the behavioral fats as you look for in people that you want to bring into your culture well of course we are a club we are a team we are we have staff here that work every day together and it's about respect I think respect is a big word for me I think loyalty is a big word and so I expect them to not think about themselves too much like me before the team is always the team before before I in the manager or Sir Alex always used to say there's no I in team which which is right and but then you've got individual qualities in there that you don't want to take away but but human quality of being a team team player that's God you have to have that yeah you have to have it yep and what else are you looking for well beyond the obvious talent and the qualities as a footballer you you have how do you say use people who wants to learn they're humble enough to say yeah I think we've touched on it that if you're humble enough to say yeah you're right I can learn that listen to the coaches they want to implement our principles in the way we want to play our style because if we agree on one way of playing you can't just make your own decision on no I want to play my own way that's completely going against the team yeah there's so many others but respect for other people respect for teammates I think you need there's so many good talent out there but if you have the good right human qualities and also it driven you have to be driven you have to be a winner if we haven't talked about winning yet and you'd want winners in a team like money United of course you can you can say now well I feel anyway I've been here now 18 months ish and we have started we have a foundation to build from and now it's about we have the attitude is right the work ethic is right they're humble the hard-working we they want to learn now it's about getting to the next stage of learn how to win we need to win as well but in a fair way but we need to learn how to win in when I say fair way well I've had one sending off and I was calm I was so told off by the gaffer he absolutely slaughtered me in the dressing room in two weeks against Newcastle against Newcastle yeah and it's I learned a lesson then that that's not the way we want to win at man united we don't do it that way and it's like you don't want to win at all costs you want to win yeah but you'd rather want to win despite of than because of if you know what I mean yeah so when you've got a squad of players here who you've chosen because they're good enough as footballers yeah how do you go about turning a bunch of good footballers into a bunch of good footballers who win I think they all to get as far as they have they've got to have a bit of a an edge and an ego in them because you don't get to the top by just being a nice guy it's nice being nice but you've got to have some rough edges here and there so the thing is that you want to see who you test them you see who's got that little bit of extra how'd you test them well you well we referee quite badly a few times and see how they react yeah of course you do that on purpose because you want to see you don't want defenders who are emotional you don't want because if the to emotional they'll cost you in a cup final or they'll give a penalty away or get sent off and you want players who on nil-nil or one nail down want to take the ball instead of and then do they own the bit that everyone else does when it's finally off because then everyone's confident in your course and give us the ball everyone's confident then but when you're one nail down and you're really struggling that's when you want the leaders to step up and the winners to step up and you can't that have just leaders and but you have three four of them who really take the level up and we want them say are your leaders currently at Manchester United Damien talks about cultural architects the people that stamp the polygons associate mark on the rest of the squad well of course I think you have had an example lately on Marcus Rushford what kind of human being is but also a leader he is by stepping forward he stepped for on the pitch and off the pitch he steps forward takes his first penalty for Man United ever extra-time Champions League PSG he's never had a penalty before and he takes it and he scores and way through that's Marcus is a leader of course you got Bruno who has come in and with him with the impact he's made he's he you can see he's a leader because players follow him they've seen wow he's there's such that's that that was the little spark that we needed I feel earlier on this season from being a team that should have won games to now winning get more games and of course the captain Harry McGuire has been a six-months in his captain of the club what did Bruno do someone that's come in it's not easy is it to come in halfway through season or to community even in the summer transfer when I to come into a squad that's already formed what did he do where the players immediately thought right this guy is he's got the talent of course that's you can see the qualities there and we've seen that for a long time but then again he steps up when it matters and he does it when it matters he's delivered crosses is delivered assists he scored goals he's took penalties he's done everything in a short space of time that you'd expect the field and off the field as well in training and he demands of me he demands of his teammates and the first day he was in the club he shook everyone's hand he doesn't didn't come in here thinking I'm the I'm the Big Shot and you follow me know the respect and the respectfulness of this he should absolutely every staff members and you notice that and of course that's this is a family money and I did we've always been a family in sir Alex the way he's created this atmosphere in this dress in this training round I think is unique so when so to the names you mentioned there early so McGwire and Bruno are people that you've recruited in so what kind of homework do you get to do to make sure that they're the right character as well as having the talent that are good that it's going to add to the family well obviously we got the Jeep's girls that dude all this scouting we've got analysis to do all the analysis and break it down to the my new dis detail but you can see that with your I really what talent and want quality yeah got then you speak to teammates that maybe play with them in a national team so obviously Christiana was an easy go to me that I managed to get through through pair Patrice to get hold of Cristiano and his recommendation obviously stands stance I'm in good stead and that's a normal situation that when I was in Norway it was easy for me I knew more than most of them when I signed and I knew didn't maybe the agent and I managed to to maybe meet the parents or the boys yeah on the hair on the sly you you're not allowed to but sometimes you just meet and you speak and I think for English national internationals for example you speak to Marcus what do you think of such and such teammate of yours what do you do you think he'll fit Harry McGuire for example you follow him you watch the Instagram account you watch Twitter you watch what kind of personalities they are make feel and had him at home those yep no and you go back to the scouts that scouted him when he was 15 16 of course they'd spoken to them and and we just know more or less everything we need to know about the pure reality then it that's you can't do that all the time so sometimes you have to have to get take the hunch you watch him and you say well rainy day at Stoke he steps up he's a winner or just a little why he picked up the ball and gave it to the player or he's respectful when he off the pitch he shakes everyone's hand or those little things you look at the human qualities as well I'm interested to know also what what you say to those players about this is before they've signed them all they've seen the culture seen their teammates what's your message to them for the club that they're coming into and I suppose it's quite an important moment for you because it's the very first chance you have isn't it to make a mark with these players oh well first of all it's like I've got to manage for the club all the time you've got think the best for the club but you've got to have tried to help this player you got to try to say well you've you've got a chance here to to make a career at the biggest club in in the world you can make history and I want to be here to help you but I can't do everything for you you've got to step up and do it yourself but I've changed quite a lot since I started managing it's not yeah how long is it ago ten years ago now and molder I was more of a direct you like straight and down this is the way it is and but gradually you know they're Millennials we speak about it the young kids now they they need a different way of managing and help and sometimes being spoon-fed it's a different i i've got players now just the age of my son and it's like well you could be you could be my son you and it's like you treat them a little bit differently when you challenge them you have to they've got to do it themselves even though how much I want to help them so what would you say is the biggest single difference between when you first went into molder and and the manager you are today or one single difference there's many differences of course I was a very driven ambitious manager being at man united I'm gonna come to mould I'm gonna win I'm gonna get back to the Premier League I've got ambitions I'm my dream is to manage money United I'm just focused on that and we do well in molder we win I brought a few Man United's stuff with me we bring in mini man United over there and he's like this is easy this is like gradually and then I get in an offer and I jump on it with Cardiff and that's a different learning curve for me and ever since I finished at Cardiff obviously looked back and evaluated myself and but wills changed quite a bit so I went back to moulding and then it was a different squad I went into but I changed my ways I was more I got to know the players more unless you speak you create more relationship with the players I think players nowadays need that more than maybe what I did and the generation before me did I think it was more look after number one and make yeah the manager was more straight and lefty to you so after that card effects baby yeah how did you process that because that's that that's one of your first failures in your career that it was I'm quite easy in that respect because then well I I'm I was that like your player as well I did my best and that's all I can do this is me but then I realized after a while that this isn't me at Cardiff cuz that wasn't me it was a challenge I was too stubborn maybe to when I took the job I'll manage this and I needed maybe different skill sets and maybe I was said I was open and honest and my door was always open with her with it with the players but maybe I was still a little bit too distant and it couldn't I didn't get the relationship that I wanted with the players and in my last five years I've been a different manager to be fair and more relaxed so much more relaxed and say well I've the worst thing that can happen is that you're allowed to move back to Lola Kristensen with your family yeah do you think that there'll be people listening to this now who are in management positions and they've maybe made the same mistake as you where instead of just being themselves they feel they have to play the role or manager and that's what that's the mistake you made I think so I definitely I loved going into work every day at Cardiff good people and I have absolutely loved it but it just wasn't me that situation it didn't didn't suit me and you I think maybe they as you say you get found out maybe I wasn't me or I'm sure I wasn't me because one the style of play that we wanted to play didn't suit the players or so the style of play that I wanted didn't I couldn't go through with it and I've been I've been here for 15 years as a player no 11 as a player and four as a coach before I've come back now and of course these years have molded me in the way how I believe a team should be playing and the style that the club said it should so that for me it's it was miles easy walking in here to bring my koala philosophy I don't principles I don't like all these words I just want the players to go out there and express themselves within the framework in a positive manner because you want to dominate want to dominate when your man United you want to be the team that's got the ball I was really like how important was that apprenticeship you did it but that when he finished as a player and then you became that the under so you worked with Bob and Joyce yeah you also had Sir Alex mentor yeah how important was that in your development was fantastic and Warren was a fantastic partner for me because he had had a completely different upbringing in English league system so he'd played more games in the lower league I was I was used to winning every year I was used to having Jaap stam and Romney onsen at the back playing TV to all the time and so tactically I realized that well you need to set your team up differently then to what what it was like with Sir Alex was yeah you want to take risks and you want to play with but that's easy when or not easy and when you got you up stung you can and run eons and you can play to me too because they've got pace and strength and now you need to organize your team so I learnt to organize a team much more with with Warren and all of these sort of moments of learning and successes and failures and relationships you built along the way led you to getting the Manchester United job for people that are listening to this who have big things come along in their lives and they they don't sit comfortably with them because it just overalls them a bit how did you cope mentally when you got the phone call to say first of all you're coming in on a temporary basis and then that's it you are the Manchester United boss how do you deal with the sudden expectation and the a kind of explosion that it creates in your in your own life no problem there's no absolutely no problem ad I've had the best manager in the world how to deal with all the circumstances how to deal with the expectations of this club and when you were a player here I was I didn't get it as much as say Eric Hanson and David Beckham Ryan Giggs all the superstars that we had but the media attention you just have to learn how not to pay too much attention to it and just do your best because that's they've asked you to do the job because of your qualities and that's I trusted myself to to bring my good qualities into the team that was here obviously I was only here for six months to be fair and it's easier than to come in and say okay I'm gonna enjoy this I'm gonna do my I'm just gonna feel quite pressure free because yeah I'm gonna be me I'm gonna make the players enjoy playing football creating environments that they want to come into every single day that's key for me now you have to have an environment which is enjoyable but challenging they've got to want to come in the next day and say I like to like to come into work and I just enjoyed it the boys with quality we talk about leaders we talked about leaders before Paul Pogba he's an unbelievable leader both on the pitch and off the pitch and he steps up with his with his world-class qualities as a player but also as a leader he he in the first few months of mine I spent a lot of time with Paul because I had him in the reserves as well and we knew each other and it was easy to to just rekindle that relationship really and he enjoyed it how do you help your players to deal with that outside scrutiny and pressure because I look at someone like Paul Pogba and as you say a world-class footballer he's won a World Cup yet still persistent questions across the media right that must surely have an impact on people's mental well-being and therefore their their performance on a football field I'm just interested in how you deal with that side do you talk to your players about that sort of stuff I have a very sort of open dialog with them yeah definitely I think one is the individual chats you have with them of course you have everyone's different and everyone's got different challenges in life we've all got there's more there's I we could probably sit there for hours and hours talking about what happens off the pitch that you're not allowed to know which I obviously don't want to to share with people but there's so much more to - footballer than just what happens on the pitch and they're human beings I need you but I try to make him understand that yes we play for our fans Man United fans but don't pay attention to social media immediate and you see the more loud ones normally I just they just want to criticize you for yeah for anything so we speak to them about how to handle that and manage that both as a group and as individuals because what matters when you walk on step onto that pitch is your teammates is your fans it's what the manager and coach is what we want if you if you don't your absolute best don't worry about anything else you know that you've you've done what we've asked because I often use the phrase that criticism is the enemy of creativity and in that moment you've got a footballer about to do something amazing and all it takes is that slight seed of doubt in his head to think well I've got so much criticism this week I'm not sure I'm willing to put myself out there well that's one way of looking at it yeah then you got the Michael Jordan way or my way cuz whenever the whenever that manager put me out of the team that just gave me more energy to show him when he put me on I want to show you that I should be playing more so you feed off yeah you feed off the feed off negative I'd I'd rather have you Lots criticize me all day long than race me I think it's easy if you get praised all the time to just rest a little bit on your laurels I think it's Sadducees you almost oh yeah sometimes I think yeah you you might believe it you might just deep down you think I could have done better she doesn't better but everyone thinks I'm great so yeah I'm probably great just let me ask you a question oh look like who does that so one of the things that we spoke about on this part caste has been we've seen a lot of high-performance talk about having this role of a memento mori somebody that reminds them of their FAL ability or their mistakes who is it that when they give you feedback you sit up and pay attention and really listen to them who does that for you I have to say I've had some fantastic support from Sir Alex and [Music] in in the hard times that we've gone through here when you lose again McMahon United it's it is a crisis and through the difficult periods he's been a very very good support to me we keep texting each other he rings me there's this other people Edie has been the club has they've been very supportive as well and that's we went into this with a with a bit of plan as well which everyone well I put my how do you say my ideas across and say this is not an easy fix because i felt quite a bit hard to be done and you share with us what you felt needed to join no i'm not really but then of course it's it's just those little those things that you've if you if you want to give me the job this is how I'd like to do it but you have to understand it might take some time it might mean that we we're not gonna challenge for the Premier League or it will mean we're not gonna challenge for the Premier League in 2020 but we might be able to win the Europa League or FA Cup but will challenge for top four still because we got quality but it's I need time to get this done of course there's this always demands on that you need to perform you need to win we we've spoken about development and improvement and culture but winning at man United is important sure so I there's no chance I can dress the rest on the laurels and say well 10th is fine because we have a three year plan that's that's completely you can't do that you have to always push the limits but for everyone that we've spoken to or that has sustained successes always spoke about it isn't a linear straight-line journey that yet will be setbacks they'll be difficulties and and this art of patience seems to be you can a consistent name that you need to give somebody time to get through that messy middle bit when yeah and setbacks happen so how do you get people to see that bigger picture and be patient to get through the messy middle before success well it's important that you have open and honest conversations then on this is the way and that that's probably what people might like about me as well and and because I'm always well this is the way I see it this is the way I'd like to do it because I've become so much more relaxed and say this we spoke about it before you have to be yourself and I just this is what I believe this is what I think should be done if you got belief in that this is the way I will try to do it with the stuff I've got because it's and trust you me we are a staff that always will have the club monsters united ahead of anything else ahead of any individual accolade or well I've managed money United so I've reached my dream but I'm of course my dream is to win the Premier League and Champions League with money United and I always want to be better the only way I can do it is just to do it my way and do it to the best of my abilities and I promise you as long as I'm in the job I'll do this to the best of my ability and trust my staff to have Michael Carey Kieran McKenna McPhee land rich artists who was with me with in the reserves I've got the physios John and Richard they were in me with me in the reserves there's so many the kid man he was with me when I was in the reserves it's like a man United it's our identity and DNA we just gonna do it the way we think is right for Man United when you first came into the club and you had a plan of where you were going to take them where are you now on that journey do you think for health we've just got back play and after a horrendous three month layoff with a with a situation that everyone's been through with a with a virus and we just at the moment that the lockdown started we were really in the momentum we had 11 games I think undefeated and you wanted just to keep that run going and now who knows where we are because who knows what will happen with Wade team performances after such layoff but then again that their players the staff they worked really hard over they lockdown yeah and not just hard smart and clever as well it's like you have your breather mentally but look after yourself physically so the coaching staff the fitness stuff they've been looking after the players and but the unknown was difficult when are we going to come back are we gonna when are we gonna start really training hard to be fit or if we start too early you might be tired when we start so it's been a difficult situation but I think we've found at the golden middle highway that I think we've we just about where we are we should be so classy about use up phrase about that DNA yeah of a winning culture yeah what would you say with the other three non-negotiable behaviors of the winning culture that you experienced as a player and that you're now seeking to be embed as a as a manager trust loyalty commitment to the team that's is that one word you've got to be a you have to be a team member you have to for me that's beyond be-all-end-all really if you want to go your own way doesn't matter how great you are if you don't want to give your qualities to the team then we just have to find it another Club for you or you have to find another way so for me that is that loyalty is it's vital and the trust I can I know I can trust ik stuff and they put if the play is more or less as well with with my life because they they want the same as us and that's the as a good feeling keep the standards high you just got to keep challenging yourself all the time that's it's got to be allowed to have some stark words and strong words when because that accountability you've if a player lets the teammates down the TI want the team the players as well to make that player accountable because it's it's only not himself he's letting down he's letting the whole team down and what else do you do you say well just respect well that's loyalty and Trust this as well isn't it so he used up loads on you first yes dancing I think yeah but it's all about team really for me family you very much go back to this team thing don't you how much do you see yourself as being on a level with your clients and how important is it as their leader as their manager that you maintain some distance no well I'm obviously I'm the one who makes the decisions and will will suffer when we if we lose and get the criticism which I don't mind cuz that's that's at the top you'd you you are the one that made the most difficult decisions and the players and the coaching stuff they know that I would rate their opinions I really really think it's vital that everyone in my staff feel comfortable of racing their opinions to me without me saying I if I respect their opinion but then you respect my decision as well and that's I like that way of of of managing and making decisions I always tell you and I know what they are better than me and many many things and made they might think about different things that I do and we discussed this all the time about which players and what who will suit what position players as well I think they know that I want the best for them but that the team is the most important I there's nothing better for me and when I was it molded for example it's a different different job I know but one of my jobs there I felt was to give those players a chance to have a career like I have had as a player so I want you to go from molder to your bigger club in Europe and I'm gonna help you I'm gonna tell you exactly what you need to do to and prepare you for that yeah that job so you've got to just trust me on that because I've been through it here is is younger lads but they've such at such a high level I still want the best for them but I have to make decision for the club and I think the the the place respect and understand that are they hard to reach modern young footballers no I don't think so I am I've got to be open I've got to be want to invest I want to invest my time into their cause into their time and into their development and that's my job really as well as I'm still the manager of the club but I want I need to invest time into individual players into stuff here so into different departments that they feel they can be their best I want to spend time with them say I like you to make those decisions or I make I want you to do this I want you to feel free to make decisions and because I trust you you are here because you're a top player you're out here because you're a top administrator or top chef or top physio they need to know that they're better than me to treating players injuries I might be okay speaking to them about different things so if he was born one piece of advice you could give a young player that was here at the club was maybe on the cusp of making the transition to join your your first team what would the one thing you would want them to know or do or understand mm-hmm work harder than you've ever done to reach your your goals you've come so far now and I'm sure you've dreamt of playing at the highest level you're so close and don't feel that you've made it make sure that you always want to learn and develop I still I had been immersed in as a coach in the first team when I was 30 and I still learn things off him that I have taken into my coaching career but also to the last few years of my career I felt I learned off him and you you never ever ever the finished article as a player he got players now Paul Pogba Bruno Marquez Rushford Anthony they they all want to learn and I want I try to bring my experiences well in this situation I used to do this maybe what do you think of that so always be open minded in office he learned did Cristiano for example Ronaldo best player in the world but he always wanted to learn and improve he still got that in him like well Giggsy he suddenly find a new way of playing football when it was a sentiment fielder at the age of 40 so you've always got a chance to better yourself there was no substitute for hard work in this club right no it's until the gaffer used to say all the time he we were like all the managers used to tell him that we were like if 4th division team just with quality players because we run and we run and we ran and we worked hard and the two like wide Menor full backs you know the graveyard shift that we used to talk about it's just relentless but that's the way that's the only way at manyoun I didn't a man united team should never be outworked and that's I said that early on in one of my press conferences that we should never be out waved and make feel and said to me you know you'll all which be remembered for that you know you've you've you you've said that so you now you can't let anything be fitted in us so that we working towards being the fitness team in the league but I'd be a great but how much not only were you even consciously aware that that goes right the way back to Sir Matt Busby talking about that that was almost like a prerequisite for the people that worked in the factories and and the local businesses they came and they wanted to see the Manchester United's in work hard and then put talent on top of it of course I know the history of the club and I know sir mats and I know Sir Alex and and know how much and the quotes Sir Matt said wealth we have got people here in Manchester work in their socks off to be able to go and enjoy Saturday on our Old Trafford seeing their heroes but also being entertained because you need to as a man United player also need that x-factor you need that skill in but you're always deep down you've got to have that humility about you and be working hard because if not our fans won't have you we don't want any fancy done who stood there just flicking and doing those things that no that's not the man United player and that's one of the things when we it reminds me now that's one of the things I say to my players as well when we signed them you've got to work hard here because our fans they love a hard-working player they love a tackle from so Jessie and Marcus local lads who just goes and change the case down the opposition first five minutes you get a tackle in in their box for example our fans love that and they didn't deserve to see it so when you came in as a young man from know I did did you deliberately go and study the history of the club are not to be honest I didn't deliberately do that it just it gets in you are nudists and watch the under-18 I watch the reserves you just have people that's worked for the club that live for the club you have Paul McGuinness you have Jimmy Ryan you have Wilf McGuinness Paul's dad so have Sir Alex we the conversations just goes and you just it's in on the walls it's within us and it just is that feeling you get we are man united and that's just gradually just takes over your your life I'm really interested but we're gonna go onto our quickfire questions okay in a second all right one of the things that really intrigues me about managing a club like Manchester United is we've spoken a lot about the team yep and the team is one and that work ethic and what you need to be a Manchester United player yeah your job what are the tricky parts of your job I guess is balancing with that the fact that you need flair young you need players that bring that individual a little bit of brilliance so what is the trick to allowing those players to flourish and grow and be a superstar here but at the same time work for the team and everyone moves in the same direction well when you when you are part of a successful team you do that work no matter what but your quality will make you win you win games so how do you do it you just always say you always encourage them to express themselves be themselves be like we talked about as a manager be myself players as well what's unique about you yeah do you stay stick with the principles and framework but what's what's unique about you because there must be something because you've just you've signed for money knighted man United have signed you you must have an X Factor you must have a uniqueness is it your pace is it your free-kick is it your dribble is it your work rate is it I should finish it yeah that was my quality that was the one x-factor that I felt that I made a difference with that how can you make a difference you've got to remember that you've signed because you have specific qualities you have qualities that no one else has in the world also buy-in to the team yeah you gotta buy into the team that's but that's we we want to create sir Alex was great man management we felt we were important every one of us he made us know that we were important even me as a soap coming on Phil Neville Nicky put in my group or we knew that when the big games came Roy Keane poor schools would play under cold right your core is well you still had that hope and had a little maybe you'll pick me this time but if it didn't I knew I might be important because he's made me feel so important all the time yeah I think that's what you want to do with the staff members as well what you do is important and I think everyone would sacrifice yourself and you work hard for the team if you know at the end you got that trophy you lift that champ and Champions League trophy or Premier League so hopefully we can that's what we're working towards I remember Martin Keown telling me that when he was at Arsenal arsene wenger used to pull him aside on matchday and say listen against this opposition you're the single most important player for us okay you've got to have a good day and Martin would spend the rest of the pre-match and the game thinking arsons told me that I'm the main man he said it's only after he retired and they all used to get together have a drink but that's a trick of a good manager as well and you know that's Sir Alex actually and most of them will have that little traitor I'm so so important for for them and no it's when you win it is all worth it I've heard he told the anecdote before though are they a van in the treble season yeah against our last game against Tottenham yet in the league and you were hoping to get off the bench in that game and Sir Alex had made a comment that came back a week later in in Barcelona halftime halftime 1-1 against Tottenham we need to win Teddy and New York you started the game at half so 1-1 he takes Teddy off puts Andy on so it's like well I might is he gonna put me on but he's T I still remember him I still remember where I sat and watched him and he says well keep on playing like you are and Koli will probably will score will get but if you don't get your goal I'll just put only on the last 15 minutes he'll get us a go and it's like I sit up in my chair and it's like I didn't come on cuz I'm they scored after three minutes with his first couple of touches I think he'd just received it I think he had two or three touches and scored so fantastic we won the league I'm the happiest man on the on the planet because he's just said that about me I didn't even come on but ten days later we win the Champions League by exactly the same recipe he puts me on and I got got the goal so connect as United fan can I just indulge myself down I've always been intrigued about that to that goal in Barcelona yeah and the story that and you can correct this otherwise that you'd studied the the guy that was up against you they go for some youth club and you'd noticed that when he went for a header he would close his eyes no oh that's wrong no he just the thing is was he was marking me and he grabbed hold of me and but he did lose the sight of me when the look he watched Eddie had flicked that ball on so he just lost me for a half a half a second a split second and and that was enough he was a fantastic defender khufu but but you noticed that he would he would lose sight of it like from watching on the substitutions I don't think so no that's just a myth you know I used to I used to sit and study defenders yes but I can't take the credit for that one I just used instinct to try to get away from him and read where Teddy was gonna flick the ball look we we always finished with some quickfire okay so here we go first of all your three non-negotiable behaviors that everyone around you here at Manchester United needs to buy into we did these earlier I think so hopefully yeah trust yeah do your best and always do your best because and Trusts do your best and loyalty respects no respects elders very good what advice would you give a teenager Olli just starting out do the same again I wouldn't so any little decision just make the same decisions how did you react to your greatest failure spurred me on to do something about it and learn from it do you ever do you have a comfortable relationship with failure because I'm a firm believer that you need to fail in life to move forwards to learn fail forwards fail early no problem with failing absolutely enough no problem at all because as long as you know that you meant well and your decisions we're good ones but it turned out wrong how do you sort of get there though because there'll be people listening to this as struggle with it maybe even your own children you spend time speaking to them about the fact that you know it's okay to fail I think they quite often as parents we spend all that time trying to make sure our kids never fail it no I'm right lesson for life I don't mind them failing as long as they've done their best that's the the main message for me to the players here as well as long as you go out or go into if you'd know that you've done your best you've because you've got a balanced life of course school sports social life and you've got to make a decision on okay I spent X amount of hours on homework X amount on my sport and X amount on my social life but know that there are consequences to your decisions so if you've decided to spend eight hours on football and half an hour on on schoolwork you don't expect the schoolwork to be top to you or your social life so you know that all your decisions will have consequences how important is like I say to you oh I know that I'm just gonna do my best anyway and I hope obviously there's a good legacy to be to be left but as long as I know I've I've been true to my values true to my the club's values and made decisions I believe were rights well so be it so I'm not too bothered about what people think but I'm bothered what I know what I've been asked to do if I can do that so as long as my employers and my family my players know that I've made the decisions for the right reasons that's fine and the final one of our quickfire questions is are you happy yeah nice quick answer here yeah well if you can't be happy with what I've got now and then I'll never be happy it's not bad is it well thank you so much for inviting us to what is a remarkable training ground fantastic view isn't it it's a mother you're king of all you can see right yeah no I'm fantastic here so it's a great place to come in every day so I'm just gonna make sure that we start winning thank you very much my pleasure to you know sit here and talk about your time at Manchester United and and really interestingly that the little tricks and the tips and the the approach you've taken to running one of the greatest clubs in the world second only to Norwich City been a pleasure to talk to you thanks Matt Cheers

Channel: The High Performance Podcast

Views: 640,224

Rating: 4.9089994 out of 5

Keywords: Football, Podcast, The High Performance Podcast, Jake Humphrey, Damian Hughes, Liquid thinker, MAN UTD, manchester united, man u, ole gunnar solskjaer, red devils, RONALDO, cristiano ronaldo, bruno fernandes, sir alex ferguson, david beckham

Id: EmlKbg3yzBA

Length: 59min 13sec (3553 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 15 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/ShapersB]

Timestamp for the part about Bruno?

[u/JimGeezerBob]

Ole's general plan for United is exactly what we need and what suits us as a club. Obviously a plan needs to be implemented successfully but this blueprint needs to be pinned up in Ed Woodwards office for any future plans.

[u/EliteWolf67]

Is this recent?