First interview with Crawley Town interim head coach Ben Gladwin

SussexWorld

Ben Gladwin took over as interim head coach of Crawley Town after Scott Lindsey left the club to join MK Dons. He is preparing his side to face Bolton on Saturday

Transcript

00:00Ben, thank you for joining us. Obviously, in slightly unusual circumstances, you find

00:04yourself as the Interim Head Coach. Firstly, how are you feeling and how are you feeling

00:08taking the lads into the bottom match of the weekend?

00:11Yes, good. Obviously, loads of new experiences for me. The last 48 hours have been insane,

00:18so very eye-opening at the same time. Taking charge on the grass today is again a bit different

00:25because you support the manager usually. It was good, obviously, trying to support

00:31the players for a bit of a transition period. Being there but also preparing for a big game

00:36on the weekend is not so easy, but it's something that we worked hard at and I think we'll go

00:40again tomorrow.

00:41Yes, I suppose it's been a bit of a baptism of fire for you, only joining the coaching

00:45staff after a type of away in the summer and all of a sudden you find yourself in the driving

00:49seat for the weekend. Is that something that you're excited for? I suppose there's just

00:54a lot of emotions going through your head right now.

00:57Yes, I think I'm excited. It'll be a brilliant experience. I think it obviously makes a bit

01:02of sense just in terms of keeping a bit of continuity at the football club and helping

01:06to support the players with a face they know. Obviously, I shared the dressing room with

01:10quite a few of them as well. It's been full on and not loads of time to think, but I'm

01:18enjoying it.

01:19Yes, I suppose it will probably help the fact that you've worked with Scott for such a long

01:23time, not just as a coach but as a player as well. You've seen it on both sides, I guess,

01:28so it could make this transition period slightly easier.

01:30Yes, definitely exposed to a lot of his ideas and a lot of the way we've done things. Obviously,

01:38spent time studying my own coaching stuff as well and I've known for a long time that

01:41it's what I've wanted to go into. It's been good, it's been eye-opening. Like I say, there's

01:47a lot behind the scenes that you probably don't get to see, even as a coach. So, probably

01:53back to the fire is a good way of putting it, yes.

01:57Yes, and obviously with Scott left a lot of the other coaching staff, so I suppose to

02:01some extent it's bare bones down at the training grounds. You've obviously had to put yourself

02:05across all different departments, haven't you?

02:07Yes, been doing some analysis stuff, looking at a few different bits that I probably wouldn't

02:13usually get involved with. Just trying to check out the pitch, actually, before we leave

02:18the training ground just then to make sure hopefully it's going to be all right for tomorrow.

02:22So yes, loads of different bits and bobs. Obviously, speaking with the ownership as

02:26well about various things and making sure we're in a good place. So, yes, full-on.

02:32Yes, and obviously prep for an opposition. It's going to be a tough test, isn't it, this

02:36week against Bolton, I suppose. Well, you've worked so closely with the players, that's

02:40another different element, isn't it, having to then look at the opposition as well and

02:43sort of figure out a game plan for the weekend?

02:45Yes, I think, like you say, so much going on and it feels like so little time, in all

02:49honesty. But it's been good, it's been exciting. I've got help from people and I've lent on

02:55the guys around me and the senior players as well, in all honesty. It's important that

02:59I think that I do that because they have loads of experience themselves and they're the ones

03:02that go out there on the grass. I want their opinions and I want to know how they feel

03:06about stuff. But all eyes focused on Saturday and trying to get a positive result against

03:12a really good team.

03:13Yes, have the players taken today's session? I suppose it can come as a bit of a shock,

03:18isn't it, when a manager departs it? I suppose it would be perfectly normal. But we've seen

03:22so far this season, and obviously a lot of the lads were here last year as well, it's

03:25a very professional group, isn't it? So is it just business as usual, really?

03:28Yes, definitely. I think it was important to acknowledge this morning that they probably

03:32would feel a little bit frustrated or anxious or upset or whatever, because that's normal,

03:38you build connections in this line of work. So we try to acknowledge that with the players,

03:42but also help them understand that we have a really big game Saturday and two more after

03:47that as well. So it's maybe a little bit cold-hearted, but you do have to move on quite quickly and

03:53get your focus on Bolton on the weekend.

03:56Cheers. Were you surprised by the events this week, or did you feel it was always inevitable

04:01Scott would move on from the job?

04:07I think at some stage, possibly, because it's normal, it happens, it's what people look

04:14to do in all walks of life, is try to improve their situation. And you can argue whether

04:20it is or not, and that's down to you personally. He felt it was a good career move for him

04:24and you have to respect that and wish him well, because he was obviously fantastic at

04:28this football club and achieved amazing things. And I think he'll be remembered there for

04:32a really, really long time. So, yes, it all happened quite quickly and I guess did come

04:39as a surprise in the moment. But was I surprised that he was going to move on at some point?

04:45Probably not. It wasn't something that was spoken about, but I think managers, you either

04:50get sacked or you move on. So that generally happens one way or the other, right?

04:54Yes, absolutely. And obviously this is a great opportunity for yourself. Has it come a bit

05:01too soon to become a manager yourself, or are you looking to get head coach, coach role

05:05as soon as possible?

05:06No, not as soon as possible. I definitely wouldn't say that. I think some people might

05:11and I've also been wary of that because the ego can kick in occasionally and go, I can

05:15give this a go. But I'm very wary that I would like to do it at the right time when it feels

05:19right. And in all honesty, I need to probably feel it a little bit. And I won't know until

05:26I've spent a little bit of time doing it. So the club have to make their own decision

05:30on what they want to do in the meantime. But it's a great opportunity and I'm looking forward

05:37to sort of feeling it on Saturday afternoon and just trying to help the club really continue

05:40to move in a positive direction and get a result.

05:43Yes. And when we watch Crawley on Saturday, will we see touches of what a Ben Gladwin

05:47style is? Or is it easier just to sort of just transition slowly and use what you've

05:52obviously is a winning formula that Scott's built here?

05:55Yes, I think first and foremost, we're very aligned anyway. And that's why we were able

06:00to work together for so long and built such a strong relationship. So no, I don't think

06:05you're going to see loads of differences. I mean, there definitely will be slight bits

06:09that I feel a little bit more comfortable with that the manager may not and vice versa.

06:13But I don't think it's going to be something that you look at and go, I'm not going to

06:16start smashing the ball from back to front.

06:19And obviously, Scott was very meticulous in his analysis and all that. And he always talked

06:23about going into depth for the opposition and that. Did he pass on any notes for Bolton?

06:27Any work he'd already done?

06:28No, not yet. I might give him a buzz later on. No, he hasn't. But he's been brilliant

06:35and he sort of said like, if you need anything, I'm here for you. But we feel pretty good

06:41and it's important to expose yourself to it. And the analysis sort of stuff, we were

06:47doing it anyway alongside the manager. So taking that on is full on. There's a lot of

06:52it to do and it is eye-opening in that sense in terms of how much a head coach or a manager

06:56has to do for sure. But it's been good and I think we're there or thereabouts in terms

07:01of the planning. It's got one more day to really get the ideas into the players, which

07:05will be important before the game. But no, it's been good.

07:08Bolton have got a very similar record to what you've had this season. What have you seen

07:13from them? What are their threats and where can you think you can take advantage of them?

07:17Well, it's obviously a fantastic season last season and just missing out. So maybe a bit

07:24of a slower start, trying to recover from that. It often happens. But I think it's clear

07:31to see that they're obviously a very good side with big resources and a big history.

07:37So we know it's going to be a proper test, but we've faced a few of those already this

07:41season. I think sometimes the result has not gone our way, but the performance has been

07:45fantastic and that is what we ask of the players, is to have a really good performance. And

07:50we believe nine times out of ten, you get to where you're going to be with a good performance.

07:53So we'll be going after the same again.

07:55And is it nice for you that you're able to get your teeth into two games very quickly

07:59when you're given this position?

08:01Yes, I think so. I mean, you can argue both ways, right? Because it's nice to be on the

08:07training ground with the players as well. That's generally the most fun part about the

08:11job, is being out there with the players and trying to improve them and that sort of stuff.

08:16But in terms of experiencing what a manager gets to experience, you go straight into two

08:23tough games and that'll be brilliant as well. And we can see if we can get the team where

08:28they need to be for those games.

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