'Really enjoying it' - Matty Pattison on his first few weeks as South Shields assistant manager - video Dailymotion

Former Newcastle United midfielder Matty Pattison speaks to Mark Carruthers about his first few weeks as assistant manager at South Shields FC.

Transcript

00:00Matty, I'll see a few weeks into your new role now, back in the club you're very familiar

00:06with, but enjoying it?

00:07Yeah, yeah, of course. I'm really enjoying it. Obviously, I know some of the boys anyway,

00:12some of the staff, so it's been an easy transition for me to be fair, but one I've enjoyed.

00:16So it's been a tough couple of weeks in terms of results, but however the performances have

00:21been there, we've just probably sort of lacked that clinical edge with some of our finishing

00:29at times. But in the main, the boys have done really well and I think their luck's

00:33going to start to change a little bit now. Obviously, two good results in the last three

00:37games and a positive performance even last Saturday away at Chorley, where we should

00:41have got more from the game.

00:42I suppose being in and around the club as well before taking the new role, that's helped

00:46because of that familiarity?

00:47Yeah, of course. Like I said, it's a good thing for the club. You've got somebody who's

00:54stepping up from an academy role up into the first team and shows that there's a progression

00:59there and that's what the club's about. So it was a bit of a no-brainer for me to step

01:05up to that role and it's one that I'm enjoying.

01:08Obviously, you had a playing role here a good few years ago now, it feels. A lot of change

01:13though between that time?

01:14Yeah, of course. A lot of change, a lot of good change. A big new stand, which I never

01:20got the pleasure of playing in front of. But really good things happening in the club

01:24and obviously we want to help us kick on another level again.

01:27And being full-time as well, at this level it's become more commonplace I guess in non-league

01:32but that's got to be an advantage as well with you and Elliot getting time on the training

01:36pitch with the players?

01:37Yeah, like you say, you can do that. You can come in every day, the boys are in their environment,

01:42they're together a lot. So it does build that togetherness as a squad and as a group. So

01:47I think it's a key thing for us.

01:50Obviously, you've managed to coach before but early in your career when you were playing

01:53with Newcastle Norwich and clubs like that, was it always on your agenda? Did you always

01:57want to go into coaching?

01:58I probably didn't think about it as much back then but I think any footballer, it's probably

02:04more of a natural transition to go into coaching because it's what you've always known. That's

02:09been the case for me. You've got to have the passion obviously and you've got to enjoy

02:12it so I've certainly got those things and I'm keen to keep learning and improving obviously,

02:17which I think I will do under the gaffer.

02:20You've worked under some brilliant managers, some of my managers, I know you had a good

02:23relationship with Glenn Rohde as well. Do you take inspiration from some of them?

02:27I think you've got to. Like you say, there's been some big characters that I've played

02:33for so if you can take bits from all of them and try and put them into your own identity

02:40if you like. That's what I try and do but I like to keep that core bit as myself. That's

02:47what I want to keep doing.