Steve Cotterill Interview
Tipster
A miracle-worker at Cheltenham, a sacked worker at Sunderland, Steve
Cotterill took the helm at Burnley last summer and has since earned
high praise from Clarets' fans. And an interview with Small Talk.
Hi Steve, how's tricks?
Good thanks, Small Talk, and you?
Better than Burnley, that's for sure. You started the season brightly
but now the wheels have well and truly come off your bandwagon, haven't
they?
Well, we ended up having a really tough January, February and March.
Cancellations and cup ties meant fixtures caught up with us - we just
don't have the squad to deal with that. Our aim now is to focus on
finishing off what has been a relatively good season in the right way.
When you took over last June, Burnley had just eight players under
contract. Building a squad that could compete must have been quite a
challenge?
Yeah, it was unbelievable. We started by signing the likes of John
McGreal and Michael Duff, then lads like Danny Coyne, Micah Hyde and
Frank Sinclair followed them. Frank was our last permanent signing.
Everyone who's come in since then - guys like John Oster, Darren Cahill
and James O'Connor - were loan deals designed to supplement us.
You did brilliantly with little resources at Cheltenham, bringing them
from the Beazer Homes Southern League all the way up to the
then-Division Two in just five years. How the hell did you manage that?
I like to instil a good team spirit and a good, healthy working
environment.
And you've done that at Burnley?
[Slightly perplexed] Of course! This year has been all about trying to
bring in the right types of people and I think that every one of them
that have come in, including the loan signings, have been really good
characters.
Even Ade Akinbiyi, who got sent off for headbutting two minutes into
his debut after you spent £600,000 on him? What, in all honesty, was
the first thing you said to him after that?
Actually, the first thing I said wasn't necessarily aimed at Ade. I let
everyone go into the dressing room before me, waited a little, then
went in and asked 'has anyone said anything yet?' Ade held his hand up
and said: 'Yeah, I've apologised.' That defused the situation: once
you've got a player who's accepted responsibility for his mistake, you
know you can move on.
You began your managerial career with a successful spell at Sligo
Rovers. What's the standard of football like in the League of Ireland?
It's quite a competitive league, certainly not as bad as some people
over here think. When I was involved all the teams were still
part-time, so it would have been very hard for them to compete on an
ongoing basis with our league teams. But they'd have held their own in
the Conference.
Just 13 days after taking charge of Stoke, you walked out to be Howard
Wilkinson's henchman at Sunderland. Did you get any grief from Potters
fans when Burnley played in the Britannia? [Dismissively] Ah, a little.
Nothing of Anders Frisk proportions though.
What was it like working with Wilko? Did you learn lots?
[Pained gurgles] Er. Um. I'd rather not even talk about that if it can
be helped. Let's look forward.
Sure thing. So how did the Sunderland players react when Wilko upped
their training regime to two sessions a day?
[Emphatically] You're not going to get anything out of me on that
subject.
Message understood. You probably tell the players to hit the sack early
on the night before a game, but presumably as manager you can hit the
dancefloors instead. Right?
Nah, I just go home and try to relax. I'll write out some set-pieces
and review my notes on the opposition to get them embedded in my head
so when I'm walking round the dressing room before the game I can tip
the lads off about a few things.
You were born in Cheltenham, does that mean you're a keen race-goer?
[Discernible mood shift] Absolutely! This year was the first time in
ages I've missed the Festival but I watched it on telly. It's always
great stuff!
What's the last CD you bought?
[Racks his brains] I don't buy CDs very often. It was probably some
soul album, because that's what I grew up on.
What's your favourite TV show?
Sky Sports News. Pretty predictable, I know.
Kylie or Britney?
Well, I'm a bum man so...
Oh right, sorry... [Panicked laughter] No, no, no! I mean you're either
a boob man or a bum man and I'm most definitely a bum man, so I'd
choose Kylie. Magnificent!
Ah, apologies for the mix-up. Speaking of mix-ups, what's your
favourite cocktail?
I don't really drink. A glass of white wine occasionally if I'm in good
company, but that's about it.
What do you have in your pocket right now?
Well, I've just come from training so I don't have anything in there ..
hold on [rummaging sounds] actually, I do: my bollocks! [raucous hoots
of laughter]
And long may they stay there! Thanks for chatting, Steve. Good luck!
And thanks to you too, Small Talk.