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JACK ROSS INTERVIEW

Jack Ross interview: ‘I always believed I could be a good manager. I have faith in myself’

Jack Ross, St Mirren’s saviour, explains his outlook to Graham Spiers and admits sometimes it’s not possible to influence the action

Graham Spiers

September 16 2017, 12:01am, The Times

Ross says that he is obsessed with winning the league title at St Mirren
Ross says that he is obsessed with winning the league title at St MirrenROBERT PERRY/THE TIMES
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I asked Jack Ross what the secret of his success is. And success it has been: at Alloa Athletic, where he transformed the club’s fortunes, and now at St Mirren, who are currently seven wins out of eight and leading the Ladbrokes Championship. How does he do it?

“I think you can put too much weight on how good a manager or coach is,” he says. “You can do all your preparation work, working on this and that, but when the game starts there is a reactive side to it that only the players can control on the pitch.

The analysis side is so big now — but if you don’t have the players, you can’t make it work

“I might work on one or two strengths or weaknesses — ours or our opponents’ — before a game. But there is uncertainty in sport. That’s why we go and watch it: you don’t know what is going to happen. You can’t sanitise it. A manager has to trust himself, but that also means knowing that you cannot cover every eventuality on the pitch.”

He makes for impressive company, sitting in his tiny manager’s office at the St Mirren training complex. Ross is thoughtful, articulate, at times modest and at times not, and is devoted to turning around the Paisley Buddies. On his whiteboard behind his desk are notes on “Tactical Periodisation”. At 41 years old, he appears the very essence of a modern coach. “The game has definitely evolved,” he says.

“The analysis side of it now is so big. The knowledge that managers, coaches and players have prior to games is huge compared to what it used to be.

“When I was a young player, quite often you wouldn’t know the opposition shape or personnel; you just went out and played. But nowadays the amount of footage and data available is vast. You can collate a lot of information, and teams will now set up and try to counter the way the other team is playing.

“I heard Davie Moyes say recently that, for him, the in-game management is now far more challenging for managers. He meant changes you make in games, which subs you put on, and why you make certain decisions. Davie thinks that aspect is tougher and bigger than ever, and I think it’s because of the vast amount of information available now to managers.”

After the Scotland-England 2-2 draw at Hampden in June, Gareth Southgate, the England manager, said: “It was hard to control. The game took on a narrative of its own.” Ross concedes that, while he desires as much influence as possible as a manager, it can’t always be there.

I don’t fear the sack. I only live in fear of not doing my job properly. That drives me on

“Firstly, you can think you are the best manager out there but, if you don’t have the players, you can’t make it work. Certainly, the players need to buy in to whatever you are asking them to do. You won’t have great success — no matter how good you are — without good players.

“Then there is your influence. We played Caley Thistle last week. The week before we’d played Dundee United [they won 3-0] and I’d thought, ‘yep, this is good, this plan has worked’. But against Inverness there were something like five goals in a 15-minute spell in the second half, and I was trying to figure out how to get some sort of control of it. The game just stretched and people on the pitch did what they wanted. What can you do? Sometimes you can’t affect it. You just hope you come out of it on the right side.”

Ross is refreshingly immodest about his ability as a manager. He thinks he possesses the talent to make more than a decent fist of it. “When I played, I always wanted to become a manager. I always believed I could be good at it. I still feel I might be good at it. I don’t mean to sound arrogant or conceited, I just have a faith in myself in this role. I know it can be a precarious job, but I don’t live in fear of getting the sack. I only live in fear of not doing my job properly. That’s what drives me on.

“I’m obsessed with winning the league. I’m obsessed with taking this club forward. But I don’t work stupid hours; I just work effectively. I’m in here first thing in the morning until tea time. It’s easy to say, ‘oh, I work 70 hours a week’ but I think, if I can work 45 hours a week, and work well, then that’s fine. I try to work smart. I don’t need to justify my existence by working 70 hours a week. I just try to do my job properly.”

His success in Paisley has been remarkable. St Mirren were rock bottom of the Championship table last October when Ross took over, but he somehow kept them up — when relegation looked likelier — and is now leading the charge to reach the top tier. Moreover, when other managers might have thought against doing so, Ross declared at the start of the season that promotion was his goal.

“I made it quite clear: I wanted promotion. Yes, it put more pressure on me, but that’s fine. I think you should feel pressure as a manager. I feel pressure before every single game. Feeling anxious, feeling pressure, feeling uptight … I think most managers would admit to that. I enjoy the pressure side of it. So should the players. The most successful footballers deal with pressure week in and week out. From the pressure felt, either as a manager or a player, that’s where you get your edge. I’m not sure I ever want to lose that.”

More than a few people are pointing at Ross and earmarking him as Scotland’s next hot ticket as a manager. In his pleasant way, he shrugs off the compliment. “I’ve always been ambitious, I’ve always tried to push myself,” he says. “But this is my job and I just want to be successful at it. Where this will all lead me, I don’t know. I don’t get too caught up wondering about any of that.

“As I said, I believe in myself, I think I can do this, but I hope that doesn’t sound arrogant. There are a lot of good young managers or coaches in Scotland, so we can all be the flavour of the month at some point. This is a precarious job; you never know what’s going to happen.

“I feel very aware that, for all the information we have, you can only influence so much from the sidelines. The key is recruitment, getting in the right players, then being able to get the very best out of them via your man-management.

“If you can do that, you’ve got a chance.”

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