00:00 first time we've had a chance to properly sit down and chat with you. How have you enjoyed
00:03 your first sort of months as an official member of Scott's coaching staff?
00:07 Well firstly thank you very much and I've enjoyed it to date. We've got off to a good
00:13 start but I'm not sure I'd have done it for anyone other than Scott and my admiration
00:21 for him both as a person and his philosophy on football. So, delighted to be back working
00:28 with him. We've known each other a long time, our beliefs are very similar. So yeah, I'm
00:33 delighted to be here.
00:34 Some eagle-eyed fans may have spotted you at some games last season. Could you just
00:39 talk us through your role last season and how it's changed as we head into this new
00:42 season?
00:43 Yeah, I did a similar role before Scott came at a previous club with him. I think that
00:52 sometimes for Scott it was another set of eyes from a different viewing place. I mean
00:58 it was round the dressing rooms with the team and with Scott but viewed it from a different
01:03 position and we discussed things pre-match travelling if you like and before half-time
01:14 and then at the end of the game and travelling home. So there's lots of discussions and it's
01:18 been like that over the years. We enjoy each other's companies and our thoughts on football
01:27 are, as I say, very similar. So yeah, it's good to be with him.
01:32 How are you finding working with the current bunch of players? Obviously we've seen a lot
01:35 of change from last season but as you mentioned earlier in the interview we've got off to
01:40 a great start haven't we?
01:41 Well I have to say that the recruitment's been great and the lads that have all come
01:48 in added to the lads that have survived, that are still here. It's a good mix of youth and
01:56 experience led by a very good captain who unfortunately is not on the pitch at the moment
02:02 but there's some real talent in the squad. Getting off to a good start was significant
02:12 because it makes the players believe even more in what everyone's trying to achieve
02:19 and we've made a good start.
02:22 How pleasing has it been to see how much the fans have taken, not only to Scott but to
02:26 the players as well? Scott's openly said about his relationship with the fans and how at
02:31 previous clubs he hasn't had that same relationship that he has here so it must be pleasing working
02:36 so close to him to see the relationship that he gets.
02:38 I'm delighted for Scott. He's tactically very astute. I have to say for the fans, they
02:46 have been a breath of fresh air. The ground was buzzing and rocking the other night and
02:52 they've got new heroes. They've got Danny Orzee and Liam Kelly and all the new guys
02:58 playing plus all the existing players that are still here so they've got some existing
03:03 heroes and some new ones and I think that's good for football clubs. The fans have embraced
03:10 the new players really well and the players really respect the fans, the ones that travel
03:16 and obviously the ones that are at home games. It's just been a breath of fresh air. One
03:23 of the reasons why I thought it was quite good for me is that the fans have been really
03:28 good and I'm sure they do know that the singing and the chanting and the support for the players
03:37 and the manager has been outstanding and I think it does get an extra yard. It gets something
03:47 extra from the players because there's a real buzz and long may it continue.
03:53 You've obviously known Scott for a long time, what are his strengths as a manager and a
04:01 coach and did you know from when you first met him that he wouldn't be successful at
04:05 this level?
04:06 I've known him all his adult life. He was a young man who came down to Gillingham and
04:13 signed a professional contract and lived in a clubhouse with a couple of other young guys.
04:22 Normally Sunday roasts. I was just married with two young kids. He came to Dover on loan
04:29 and I was there working with Peter Taylor. I took to him, I just liked him. I liked the
04:36 freshness of his approach and he was a sponge and he wanted to know stuff. He had an opinion
04:44 which was solid and he was not outspoken but he would share. As much as he would listen
04:52 he would share. I had no doubt that there was something in there with regards to coaching
04:57 and management and he certainly has got lots and lots of attributes. He's got philosophy,
05:09 he's got a style, he's got a ship that runs the right way and everyone rows the boat the
05:15 right way. He's got a good relationship with all the staff, with all the players. He's
05:23 a connoisseur of the game. People play with the idea of we're going to be a possession
05:30 based team. He doesn't play with it, he does it. He'll claim, if someone makes a mistake
05:38 he's prepared to claim it and own it which takes a hell of a character. The players got
05:47 a lot of time for him, his staff's got a lot of time for him. I think the way that the
05:52 staff's been put together, there's been a lot of thought going to it. The background
06:01 guys, everyone that's involved with the background, the two guys with us today, Harry and everyone
06:07 else, it's just kind of a good bond and Scott creates a lot of that with how he is. It's
06:16 helped that I've known him all his life and Jamie too, like Jamie Day, we're all quite
06:22 close and we've known each other for many years so it kind of works.
06:27 Obviously you personally, you've coached at lots of different levels and that, rather
06:33 than you've been at Arsenal, what challenge is it coming from a team like Arsenal with
06:39 endless resources, facilities and that and then coming to a League 2 club like Crawley
06:43 Town?
06:44 I think it's always wanting to put something back into the game. The role that Scott's
06:51 given me, of course it's a collective team environment and I work with all the players
06:57 on the back of Scott, Jamie, we all work together on it. But there's a lot of individual work
07:03 that goes on also, little chats and little bits of work, practical stuff on the training
07:09 ground. So it kind of works and it is different because this is a results business where academy
07:18 football is a development business but we see it as both here. With Crawley it's a business
07:28 of three points, yes we're responsible for a playing style but we're also responsible
07:34 for developing young players. So that's good for me because it's what I've done all my
07:41 life and we had a lot of good success at it. I still speak to lots of the boys now and
07:49 continued like a friendship after a professional relationship of coach and player, it's now
07:54 friendships where I can go and watch them play in the Premier League and sit with their
07:59 families or whatever. So it's all changing but now it's three points so I'm aware of
08:06 how important it is to the club, to the supporters, to the owners, to the manager, how important
08:12 the three points are on each Saturday. But we've got a way of getting those three points
08:20 if that makes sense. It's going to be through playing the right way and a possession based
08:27 game so it's really exciting, I must say it's really exciting.
08:30 You mentioned just getting in touch with a lot of players there, I know you've put players
08:34 through like Jack Wilshere etc. Is there any one player that you're particularly proud
08:38 of what you've achieved with them? Or is that too many to mention?
08:43 Without blowing my own trust there's so many. Jack Wilshere, people claim responsibility
08:51 for players and Jack Wilshere was born to be a footballer. I just became his friend
08:58 and someone he could rely on and trust but other people did work with Jack Wilshere.
09:08 I think with all these young players that go through it's not just an individual, it's
09:11 not just one person that does the work, it's lots of people. You've had a contribution
09:18 towards their development and it does make you proud. I used to get goosebumps when they
09:24 were involved with first team training and now they're running out and playing for the
09:30 first team and the goosebumps got bigger and stayed longer. So that was a real buzz seeing
09:37 the players. Now to keeping contact with them as friends, for example I've just gone to
09:42 Ajax from Middlesbrough. Arsenal we had to go away to Greece to get back on track and
09:51 he did it very well. He's come back to Middlesbrough and I've spoken to him. So I keep certain
09:58 boys you're more in contact with that ring or talk to you more. I still follow all of
10:06 their progress up. I still follow it on.
10:10 Hi Carl, I just wanted to talk to you about Jack Wilshere again. What was so special about
10:17 Jack when he was younger?
10:20 I must stress I don't want to claim because lots of people worked with Jack Wilshere.
10:31 Some people are just born to be. Jack was really, really unlucky with injury. Who knows
10:38 back one day he could have been England captain. He was that good. He could run with the ball,
10:43 he could receive the ball, he had a change of pace. He was competitive, he was strong,
10:52 he was will-o'-the-wisp. He could move it and get by people and let the ball run across
10:56 his body and commit defenders. He was probably a little bit unlucky, Jack Wilshere, to get
11:07 the injuries he got because he didn't deserve it. And a cracking fella. By the time we left
11:17 Hay Lend and went up to Llandolconi, Shenley, he was 16 already with the first team if you
11:28 get what I'm saying. So it was a short space of time at Hay Lend where everyone did the
11:33 work. Then he went up there and worked in the youth team and stuff like that. But then
11:38 he quickly made the...
11:40 I promise I won't bring it back to Crawley. You said you had those goosebumps when you
11:47 were watching those players. You've helped nurture them, gone to these pitches. Is there
11:52 a specific game with Jack when you were younger? Because everyone talks about that game against
11:55 Barcelona. Do you remember that specifically?
11:59 Not especially because other people were involved with Jack. I can remember Alex Iwobi getting
12:05 picked to play by Arsene Wenger for his debut against Barcelona. I can remember Ainsley
12:13 making the Niles meet in his first team debut, Rhys Nelson, Joe Willocks, Eddie Nketiahs,
12:21 all the boys that he'd done a lot of, and Nils Smith-Rowe. So all the boys that were
12:27 involved with him, 24 years regular, went over the fence and you'd go, "Oh please,
12:30 I just hope they do well." And as I say, lots of contributions. Liam Brady was...I can't
12:40 tell you what influence he had on my career. He was really good with us, A, as his staff,
12:48 but really good around the kids and obviously knew what it took because he was so good.
12:55 He knew what it took to be a top player and he was an arsehole through and through. Without
13:00 those kind of guys, we're all paling to insignificance, but when you've got a boss like Liam Brady,
13:07 yeah it really helped.
13:09 What do you make of Arsenal these days?
13:10 Oh look, that's for someone else to judge. My days there were long ago, three or four
13:16 years now maybe. Still follow the boys, but...and Mikel, Arteta, we had Tony Adams, Sol Campbell,
13:29 Thierry Henry, Mikel came into the office and came out with us and worked and worked
13:36 on the training ground. So all those guys, top players, right? All came into our office,
13:44 worked with us and took groups away and watched us work and so on. Mikel now is a top, top
13:52 manager in his own right, who's a student of the game, been away and probably worked
13:57 with the best in the world in Pep Guardiola. Arsene too was very good at our place.
14:05 Not too bad.
14:06 Yeah, no, he was very good. We were kind of fortunate in that we had...Arsene gave stability
14:13 and Liam because of the time they were at the club. So Arsene was there 20 years, so
14:18 if you're doing a reasonable job, you get to stay for the duration. We were lucky Arsene
14:25 was that long and Liam too was that long. When they kind of weren't there, it was more
14:33 difficult.
14:34 Back to calling up.
14:35 Yes.
14:35 An incredible start as you mentioned to the season so far. It's funny because Crawley
14:44 and Gillingham at some point last season both fought for renegation, now they're coming
14:47 together at the top of the table. How do you make sure that the players stay level-headed
14:55 heading into a game like this, off the back of such a strong start?
14:58 The manager leads the ship, so we've discussed that a little bit this morning with the players.
15:07 Well, you know it's three games in, so we're very junior in the season. However, there
15:12 are lots of people who would like to have made the start that both ourselves, Gillingham
15:16 and anyone else at the top would have made. There's many driving into work who haven't
15:21 had such a good start. Now we have, but we need to keep it going. We certainly need to
15:30 keep the performances going. If you keep the performances going and the standard of performance
15:34 going, then the rest tends to follow. You may be unlucky in one or two games where it
15:40 doesn't go over the line perhaps, but if you keep the standard, so the work rate, the
15:44 desire, the commitment, the passion, added to the style and class and the philosophy
15:50 and structure. If you keep those things going, generally you pick up more results than you
15:55 don't. So I think the manager is very big on, let's not get carried away by ourselves,
16:00 it's just the start. And if we continue, we'd like a few more games like that.
16:08 Thank you, Colin.
16:09 You're welcome.
16:10 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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