Sheringham talks management pressures

He worked under the guidance of managerial giants George Graham, Brian Clough, Terry Venables and Sir Alex Ferguson in a hugely successful playing career, yet nothing prepared Teddy Sheringham for the task that he faced when he took over as manager of League Two side Stevenage last summer. Even in the fourth tier of English football, the pressure is already on.

With his Stevenage side near the lower end of the table, in 20th place of 24 teams with just 14 points from 16 games, 49-year-old Sheringham appreciates that his first foray into management will be brief unless he finds a winning formula quickly. ESPN FC visited Stevenage’s Hertfordshire training base to meet the former England striker for an insight into life away from the bright lights of the Premier League.

ESPN FC: What would you describe as success in your first season as a manager?

Teddy Sheringham: My ambition is to survive at Stevenage, simple as that. Statistics confirm that 70 percent of first-time managers last less than six months and never get another job. So if I survive until the end of my first season, I will have done an OK job at least. Obviously, I want to do more than OK. I have ambitions to do very, very well, and at the moment I’m doing less than OK as we are struggling. I have to do better to keep my job, I know that.

ESPN FC: So do you already fear getting the sack, just a few months after you arrived?

TS: I can’t look any further than the next game and hopefully the one after that. Three months ago, the likes of Chris Powell [recently sacked by Huddersfield Town] and Garry Monk [Swansea manager] were being hailed as great managers. Monk was being touted as the next England manager not so long ago, and now he is allegedly under pressure, apparently. We all know what we are getting into when we go into football management, and you need results if you are going to stay around.

ESPN FC: Many observers will be surprised to see you starting a management career in the fourth tier of English football, so what brought you to Stevenage?

TS: I had six years out of the game after I finished playing and decided that I wanted to have a go at management. I could not ask for a better place to start my coaching career. We have fantastic facilities at this training ground, with great pitches in mint condition. It is our own facility; the whole building is bright and lively when you come in every morning. You take a big deep breath and cherish what you are doing. This is a great place to come to work every day, and I want to get that across to my players. What a great place to learn your trade.

ESPN FC: Was it not tempting to enjoy the rest of your life without the pressures of being a League Two manager?

TS: Maybe, and I can understand why ex-players from this era of the game don’t want to get involved in management, but I have a passion to be in football again. I wasn’t bored with my life; that’s not the way I am. I would always find something to keep me amused, but this is my passion. The talent I was given was to be a footballer and I was involved in the game for 25 years. I want that to continue now as a manager. I understand football. I don’t know or understand much else in life.

ESPN FC: Have you seen players in League One and League Two who are good enough to play in the Premier League?

TS: The standard is very high at this level and every now and again you come across a player and you think, “Wow, he is in the wrong league.” I believe that top clubs could nurture players better and mould them in the way they want. If you ask any footballer to play in the right way, he can learn and develop his skills. They might not all be Lionel Messi, Xavi or Andres Iniesta, but if you are showing how to pass a ball and move into the right position, you can learn those skills. I learned from the people around me in my playing days and did OK in the end.

ESPN FC: Would Teddy Sheringham have got a chance at a Premier League club if he were currently coming through the ranks in a League Two side?

TS: I may have been overlooked and discarded … left in League One or League Two. It is harder for young players now. I still believe the most talented footballers will find a way to get to the top, but you look at academies in England now and it is difficult to make that break into the first team. You have to take a chance at a big club if they offer you a deal, but you get into a Premier League academy and you realise there are 12 kids who are just as good as you. That’s hard to deal with.

ESPN FC: Is the advice you were given in your playing days by the legendary managers you worked under relevant to your players in League Two?

TS: Of course. All my ideas as a new manager have come from the people who I have worked under. I say things to my players and think that line has come from George Graham; I remember Brian Clough or Sir Alex Ferguson saying that to me. Some things stick in your mind and they come out. Even if you didn’t know you had remembered them. Football is the same game at all levels. The general principles have never changed.

ESPN FC: Your management story is kicking off a little like your playing career. Starting at a lower level with the ambition of getting right to the top. Is that how you see it?

TS: I want to work at the highest level, of course I do. You go into any job trying to be the best and get to the top, but I am just thinking about the here and now at this moment. My playing career was all about taking little steps up on the ladder. It wasn’t like a Paul Gascoigne coming on the scene and everyone thought he was amazing. I always felt a need prove myself. From [Nottingham] Forest to Spurs to Man United, with England. This is a first step on a different ladder for me. I’m enjoying it and hopefully it lasts for a long time.

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