Football Daily - In Focus with Russell Martin & Glenn Murray

Episode Date: October 26, 2024

Southampton boss Russell Martin talks life as manager, tactics and stubbornness. Still without a win this season, Russell talks about what three points could do for his side and whether or not he will stick to his guns tactically. Plus, how did growing up with five brothers influence his love of the game and who inspired and influenced his management style?

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. Let me do it one more and then we'll just go right into it. You're good at this now, mate, aren't you? No, I don't know about that. That's as good as it gets. It's only downhill from here, fellas. That was good. Hello, Russ.

How are you, mate? Nice to see you. How are you? Thank you for spending a little bit of time with me. I know you've got a busy schedule. No worries. So before we get into life as a Premier League manager, what was it about football that sort of caught your interest as a young boy?

Well, my eldest brother played, so I grew up going to games from a very early age. Some of my earliest memories of playing football, I just loved it. There's no one thing that sort of captured me. I remember watching it on the TV and loving it. I remember going to watch my brother and just loving being around the smell of the dressing room and like the deep, yeah, yeah. And then the burger store and all that. And I just loved playing with it. And like my mum and everyone else says that from the age of like 18 months to,

I always just had a ball. And that's all I wanted to do after school, everything. Just wanted to play football. Because you've got a few brothers, haven't you? Where do you lie in the pecking order? I would say I'm the least talented, but by far the hardest working. Were you the youngest? No, I'm the second youngest, the penultimate child. So, yeah, there's four of us and then

we had two foster brothers as well, Rob and John, so there was a lot of lads in the house. So you were always, I suppose, that competition from a very early age? Yeah, always. Just competing constantly in the garden, at the park. I remember having a game where you just leave the ball in the middle of the front room and run from each wall and just end up smashing it, which makes no sense, I was no good at tackling in my career, so I should have learnt how to avoid it at that point. But yeah, just competing against each other the whole time, really. And having an older brother and a younger brother who were both mad into football.

My older brother's an actor and hates football. Well, he doesn't hate it, he loves watching it, but he couldn't play. So yeah, it was just constant. That was it. Probably the same for you when you grew up. You're just in the street playing football the whole time, in the garden. So yeah, I just loved it. Loved it.

So they're your earliest memories of playing. What about watching? Yeah, like I said, I used to watch my older brother play a lot and then when I wasn't playing I'd go and watch my little brother's team my dad coached my little brother's team and they were good like locally so and then I started helping coach them when I was like 14 or 15. oh wow I just loved it well I was at training anyway so I had it that you were going to start your badges at 22. no not that I did that definitely didn't start my badge at that point. I did my first badge at 17 at college and I coached on a Saturday morning

with something that's still going in Brighton actually now, which was brilliant. And then I've sort of had an interest in it all the way through. When was it that you felt this is for me and I could possibly carve a career out of it? Well, at that point, 18, 19, I thought I would only have a career in coaching and not playing so I was desperate to be a professional but at that point I

felt I'd maybe missed the boat so I played for the England colleges team and then I'd agreed to go to America and a scholarship in a place called Fairfield in Connecticut and most of that entailed playing so the scholarship was a full scholarship playing soccer over there but whilst coaching, having a coaching job so it was like that was the next best alternative to keep playing football and play football full time but whilst coaching and learning. And then just before doing that I went on trial at Wickham, I wrote to every club, I got three replies back and Swansea and Bristol Rovers were too far away and I was skinned. Nice boys yeah?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And obviously they played a part later on on and I ended up at Wickham and stayed there four years. At that point I thought I would pursue coaching more than I would playing. I hadn't given up on it but it was like last chance saloon really and thankfully it's worked out. I always knew I wanted to coach. So was there a point when you were playing where you thought this is for me and it's going to be long and it's going to be successful? Yeah I never felt that comfortable. I know it sounds crazy but I think... That's what keeps you going though, isn't it?

Yeah, my third season at Wickham when Paul Lambert came in, the first few games in pre-season he basically slaughtered me in front of everyone twice and said he would never play for me and then converted into a right back at that point which I'd never played in my life really and then I played every game for two years for him. I thought at that point, because I'd played every position really up until then, sort of been using utility player and first sub a lot and at that point I thought actually I feel comfortable at this level and I think I can carve a career out of this. And then, well, Paul left and I went to Peterborough and it went really well for 18 months and then went to Norwich back with Paul. So much football is time and opportunity and without Paul maybe I wouldn't have got to where I got to but I like to think

that I repaid the faith he showed in me and we had a brilliant time together and got to the Premier League. So from thinking from an early age that it was all about coaching for you, to become an international footballer, it didn't go too bad did it? No, I think it surprised a lot of people and exceeded most people's expectations. But I've always had a real drive to be the best I could be as a player. I got to a level where I felt I could do it here and just maximise everything I had. Whether that was in the gym or on a training pitch, I trained like an absolute robot really.

I worked as hard as I could and thankfully every level I got to it sort of ended up working out so I just trusted that if I gave everything I got the limit, the ceiling would end up being what it was and thankfully it ended up doing that Premier League and internet Well I'll tell you what we've touched on the past

let's go and grab a cuppa and we'll talk about coaching Lovely The Football Daily Podcast on BBC Sounds and we'll talk about coaching lovely come on then the football daily podcast on BBC sounds here we've got our conference coming lovely

thank you Matthew cheers guys you're going to be there Saturday aren't you supporting the team thank you Matthew shortbread even though we haven't won a game yet

was that for the other guy I don't know if you want to play this night but I'll put it in his name thank you it's quite conscientious to start your badges that early

because a lot of players get to 31 neu 32 a meddwl, beth fyddwn i'n mynd i'w wneud nesaf? Ac wedyn maen nhw'n cymryd eu cymdeithiau, ond rydych chi wedi cynllunio'r cynllun hir o hyn. Oherwydd, ar hyn o bryd, rydym yn gweld llawer o gyfranogwyr gyrfa, onid ydym ni? Yn ystod y cyfranogwyr, maen nhw'n dod yn gyfranogwyr o 20 mlynedd neu beth bynnag. Ac wedyn mae gennych chi'r oeddr oedd yn y llall, sy'n gweithio i 35 neu 36 ac wedyn yn penderfynu i ddod yn rheolwr. Rydych chi'n ymwneod hwnnw, ydych chi? Yn aml, rwy'n meddwl bod y coedrwyddiaid cyfnodol sydd wedi sgipo'r plannu wedi bod yn coedrwyddio'r holl amser, wedi cael cyfle i gweithio, beth sy'n gweithio, beth sy'n ddim, beth maen nhw'n ei hoffi, beth maen nhw'n ei wneud yn bwysig,

beth maen nhw'n mynd i'w bwysleisio, pa grŵp oedden nhw'n arbennig arno, neu os maen nhw eisiau fod yn rheolwr. Maen nhw'n cael cymaint o amser i wneud hynny. Ond roeddwn i'n golli hynny. Ond roeddwn i'n chwarae, yn cael profiad gwirioneddol mewn ardaloedd eraill, ac rwy'n credu nawr y gallaf ymwneud â'r chwaraewyr gyda llawer, oherwydd rwyf wedi bod lle maen nhw. Felly roedd angen i fy nghymorth fod yn ymgymryd â phlant. Yn Norwich Academy, dechreuais gymryd cymorth gyda'r academy yn y noson. Roeddwn i'n cael fy nghymryd ar y bus tîm pan oedd gen i'r llaptop allan,

yn gwneud cwrsiau a'r pethau sy'n gweithio allan. Sut ydych chi wedi cael eich cyflwyniad gan y plant yn fod yn yr arbenigwr y clwb? Roedd yn ddiddorol o gwmpas, oherwydd y tro cyntaf rydych chi yno, mae'n yr arbenigwr y clwb ac mae'n 4. Ond dros y tro neu'r tro ddwy neu tri rydych chi'n eu hymgynghorio, mae'n debyg bod chi'n eu hymgynghori yn eu cymryd fel byddai unrhyw un arall. Ond fe wnes i ddigon mwynhau hynny. Ac wrth weld rhai o'r plant nawr, dwi ddim wedi gwneud rhan mewn ymgynghorio, they would anyone else so it was um but I really enjoyed it and seeing some of them kids now that I played no part in coaching by the way because I would dip in and out and but just try and and but

the coaches there some of the kids they brought through incredible and they've they've done really brilliant things so um seeing them now as men rather than kids when they were when I first met them is really it's brilliant it's part like it's the one thing I absolutely love about coaching is seeing someone and helping someone on their on their journey now even in the first team like Mae'n un o'r pethau rwy'n hoffi am ymgynghori yw gweld rhywun a helpu rhywun ar eu llwythyr nawr. Fodd bynnag yn y tîm cyntaf, p'un a ydych chi'n 36 neu 18 ac mae gennym rhai hyfryd o dynion yma, rwy'n credu y gallwch helpu nhw neu ceisio i gael rhywbeth o waith i'w ddod i'r dyfodol. Mae hynny'n ystyried yn hynod holistig, ond rwy'n cofio yn y dydd, os oes gennych chi 36, roeddech chi'n broblem ar rai safonau. Felly mae'n bwysig i chi weld gwerth i bob un person yn y sgwrd.

Roeddwn i'n gweithio gyda Dean Lewinton, yna'n ei rheolwr, a gofyn iddo chwarae sefyllfa gwahanol ac yn ffordd gwahanol i'w gyrraedd yn ei gyrfa. Roedd hi'n wych. Roedd hi'n wych gwarchod iddo helpu'r chwaraewyr eraill a completely different way to how he had been previously in his career and he was incredible like it was amazing to watch him help the other players to like see things on the pitch and him to realize actually how good he was and he could be and then I signed a few of my ex-teammates Richard Keogh, Cammie Jerome, Andy Sermon who were just amazing so important yeah he played in a charity game against me on Sunday he was still amazing but like even at that point for them to give feedback of actually they really enjoy it, they enjoy the process, they were still learning different things that they had in their career, was amazing. And Kami and Kizzee actually helped get back to the Championship because at their age people had given up on them a little bit probably.

And then with Serz, I think he could have played anywhere he wanted after he played for us but decided to retire. But I just find so much value in the older players that can help the young ones and also help me as a coach oedd Sirs, ond yn y pen draw, fe wnaeth ymdrin â'r un peth ar ôl i'w chwarae arni, ond mae'n hapus i'w ddod yn ffodus. Ond nawr mae'n hyfforddi yn y St. Gwladdau gyda'r 18au, sy'n hyfryd. Ond mae hynny'n wahanol iawn i reolwyr ifanc. Mae unrhyw reolwyr ifanc ifanc sy'n rhedeg i fynd i'r rhan, wedi cael eu gweld yn rhywbeth yn ymddygiadol gan bro hir? Ydw, ac rwy'n credu bod gen i reolwyr sy'n ymddygiadol gan fy mhrofiad i fod yn hyffordd yn ystod y gyrfa.

Dydw i ddim yn meddwl bod yn helpu, yn enwedig pan wnaethon i siarad â rai reolwyr am ymgyrchu yn rywle arall. me and my ambition to be a coach later on in my career for sure. I don't think it helped me, especially when I went to speak to a few managers about signing somewhere later on and they were like, what's the plan? I said, well, I'm on my pro licence currently and you can see it in their eyes. Oh dear, this might be a problem. There's value in everyone and I think the value in an older player is that they've lived thousands of moments that the younger guys haven't and they can help each other. Wed Adam Larner yn y flwyddyn hon ar 36. Oherwydd ei talent ar y peth, mae ei galluad yn arbennig. Ond yn fwy na hynny, mae'n fwy o ffigurau ei bod yn gallu gael llawer o waith i ni.

Oherwydd y coedrwyr a'i gweithio gyda nhw, y rheolwyr a'i gweithio gyda nhw, y cyngor a allan ni ei roi i ni a mi, ond yn bennaf i'r chwaraewyr ifanc, mae'n gofyn i ni bob dydd yn hyfforddi. Gallai fod yn y rhwng rhwng rheolwyr a chwaraewyr. Ie, mae'n wych. Ac can always be that link between the management and the players. Yeah, he's brilliant. And he's very much a player still, so he doesn't want to be seen as a player coach, but he wants to be helpful to us and to the young ones

and help them because he's been there where they've been. So he's just an amazing person for them to look up to and just to learn from, really. So you've obviously, for a long time, you've been developing and honing your style of how your teams want to play. Did you ever challenge managers while you were a player? Yeah. Too much. Which ones? a chynnal eich stil o sut mae eich tîm eisiau chwarae. Oes gennych chi unrhyw reolwyr heriol yn ystod eich bod yn chwarae? Ie, mor ddifrif.

Beth oedd e? Roeddwn i'n gweithio'n ystyried... Pan fyddai pobl yn gofyn am ein stil chwarae a'r lle mae'n dod o'r blaen, rwy'n credu bod y ffordd fwyaf yn ystod efallai y byddwn i eisiau chwarae. Ym mhrofiad i, roeddwn i'n ysgrifennu chwarae mewn tîm a oedd yn arwain y bwl yn ystod ei gallu. wanted to play all my career I really was desperate to play in a team that dominated the ball as much as they possibly could so I remember coming up from League One to the Championship in a similar time to Swansea when we were at Norwich.

Total football. Yeah and always thinking we've done amazingly like the journey we went on was so good but almost being a bit envious of theirs because they did a very similar thing but in a totally different way and it was always felt like their way is probably going to be a bit more sustainable than ours, because ours is based on purely run for each other. Could you always say that was common in football? Yeah. Because it's gone full circle.

Well, when I got to the Premier League, then you come up against some really top teams with top managers and, like, you know, influences from different countries and different cultures. And then it was like, I think that was where I started trying to really understand. So, like, when I played for Scotland against against Germany when Guardiola was by Munich, they were a completely different team to what they had been

and it was just fascinating and interesting to try and learn as much from being in the Premier League as a player as I could but also as a coach or someone who wants to progress into a coach at some point in their career trying to understand why we could go away from home some games and play brilliantly i ddod i'r cyfrif i ddechrau yn rhywle o'u gyrfa, i ddechrau deall sut gallem ni ddod i ffwrdd o'r cwmni a chwarae yn hyfryd ac yna ystod y wythnos, ddod i ffwrdd a ddim yn gyrraedd y bwrdd a chael ei gwrdd a mynd i ffwrdd a meddwl bod y ffyrdd yn hyfryd yn y Llywodraeth ac rwy'n credu bod hynny'n ymwneud â hyfforddiant hyfryd iawn ac wedyn mae hynny'n ddod yn ffyrdd iawn, mae'n beth byr nawr, mae pob hyfforddiant yn y Llywodraeth yn gweithio'n hyfryd iawn ac mae'r rhai uchaf yn hyfryd iawn yn y mwyaf. it is it's a normal thing now that every coach in the premier league has something that they're very very brilliant at and the top ones are very brilliant at most things so um it was just

fascinating being part of that the journey i went on through the leagues to understand the difference in ability ability is like minimal really like when you to make a professional is hard enough to make it as a top top player is really difficult um but what gives people the edge like apart from physicality and athleticism is is i really think real clarity in what they're doing real belief in what they're doing which has to come from a leader of a of a group so that was always really fascinating so when it came down to developing our way of doing things or my way of doing things it was like if i'm going back to being a kid playing football, and what I want to see from my kids when they play football because they love it,

is like they run as hard as they possibly can when they don't have the ball. You don't have to be asked to do it. Yeah, exactly. But well, my youngest is sort of, it's optional for him at the minute because he just wants to score. I understand that wholeheartedly. Yeah, but then with the ball, just be really brave. Don't just kick it, don't just clear it for the sake of clearing. I always say to my elders,

because I don't really say anything on the side of the pitch, but they'll always ask me. And it's like, you know, try things, do things. Express yourself. Yeah, express yourself, be free. And I think that's my job as a parent, but it's my job as a coach as well, is to try and get them to play football

in the way that they dreamt of doing, I guess. We, none of us envisage a kid making channel runs and big tackles and second balls and all that, but it's a massive part of the game, however you play, of course. But what we dream of doing is creating and having the ball at your feet and trying to be the best player you can be. And I think when you get to a certain level in the game, a lot of it becomes just about survival and self-preservation rather than really showing the best version of yourself. So I don't think there's a right or wrong way of playing, it's the right way for me

because I feel it's the best way for a player to maximise what they have, for us to show what we have in our armoury and to try and be as aggressive as we can with the ball and to defend with the ball as well. As a young manager, as soon as you got appointed appointed mk dons you set out the way you wanted to play and you believed in your whole heart yeah yeah and i said that that was the first conversation i had with pete really and um i said we're gonna have to be a bit brave and it is it might not be very quick and he just said and not the best thing he could have said to me i think at that point was i don't care if we get relegated now.

He did. He said, I just want us to have a style. Bring me a style back that I enjoy watching. Play some young players. Be brave. And I'll back you all the way through. And then, to be fair, I lost my first four games. And he was so supportive.

He would tell me off a little bit after games. But then during the week, he was amazing. And every game, ond yn ystod y wythnos, roedd yn wych. Roedd yn gallu gweld y styl yn cael ei gyflwyno ychydig mwy. Yn ystod y gwrthwyneb a'r nesaf, roedd gennyf unigol dîm gyda llawer o chwaraewyr ifanc. Roeddwn i'n fawr iawn o'r dîm a'r hyn a wnaethon nhw. Rwy'n dal i fyny â llawer ohonynt nawr. Mae'n wych gweld sut mae rhai ohonynt wedi mynd i'w wneud. Rydyn ni wedi symud i'r llaw ac rydyn ni wedi tyfu. to see what some of them went on to do is amazing. And we've adapted and we've grown, I think. We've evolved. And the teams look different, MK, Swansea and Saints. But they all have the same concept of the game.

But we adapted because the personnel is different. So the distances are different. The shape's different. But they all look conceptually the same. But they are very, very different. So I think that's been our learning and adaptance. You can't do the same thing with everyone. But you can have the same concept for sure.

But it's just about prioritising different things with different people. into the lives and careers of some of the biggest names in sports and hear from those who know them best, including Pep Guardiola. He's looking always for the perfection. Andy Murray. It was something that he'd worked towards all of his career. And Kylian Mbappe. When I saw him the first time play, I said, we have a career here. Sporting giants.

Listen on BBC Sounds. This is Five Live Sports. The Football Daily Podcast. Gwyddonwch ar BBC Sounds. Dyma 5 Live Sport, y podcast dyddol o ffotwm. Felly, fe wnaethoch chi ddweud wrthym fod y sain yn y fan honno. Yn amlwg, yn y clwb yn gyntaf, fe wnaeth e'n dda iawn. Nid yr holl beth, ond yn y diwedd. 24 gêm, un gwrs, gwrs, sy'n arwain bod e'n gweithio'n dda iawn. Yn ystod y gweith i'r Llywodraeth, sut mae hynny wedi'i ddatblygu? Mae wedi bod yn ddiddorol. Mae wedi bod yn ddifrifol o ran y canlyniadau. Mae wedi bod yn ddifrifol iawn. Felly, rwy'n teimlo bod ni'n hapus mwy o bwyntiau na'r rhai sydd gennym nawr. Mae wedi bod

rhai ffyniadau gwych yn y gêm, fel yn y Spells o Rhyl, lle rwy'n credu bod y chwaraewyr wedi sylweddoli eu hunain gyda rhai o'r hyn y maen nhw wedi'i wneud yn y Llywodraeth, ond nid yw'r cyfnod wedi'i ddatblygu neu'i ddatblygu gan y canlyniadau. Rwy'n credu bod nhw'n ei angen nawr, mae'n rhaid i ni, i bawb, i'r cefnogwyr sydd wedi bod yn wych ers fy mod i yma. Mae wedi bod yna ddynion yn gêm lle maen nhw'n edrych mor bwysig ar gyfer atal y Llywodraeth, ac rydym yn edrych mor bwysig ar gyfer bod yn y Llywodraeth a chymhwyso. Mae'r adegau wedi'u costio ni. Roedd yna ychydig o wahanol ffurfion yn gynharach, a dywedais mai roedd yn rhaid o'r cwrs, gyda rhai yn chwarae yn y Lleolfa yn gyntaf neu rhai yn chwarae yn y lleolfa yn gyntaf ers eu bod wedi cael eu llwyr yn y Lleolfa ychydig yn ystod y tro.

Mae'n rhaid i ni reoli'r cyfnodau yn well ac yn y cyfnodau o ddiffygad yn y gêm. Nid ydym wedi rheoli'n dda iawn ond mae gennym dîm mor ifanc ac maen nhw'n tyfu bob amser. Rwy'n fawr iawn eu bod wedi'u gwneud ac maen nhw'n ceisio fod yn y dîm yr hoffwn eu bod. Rwy'n gweld y dîm yn tyfu ac rwy'n gweld pobl yn tyfu, ac yn ystod y llaw fawr hefyd, a chyfrifonu fawr. Mae'n cael ei gadael oherwydd y stil chwarae. Os ydym yn chwarae mewn ffordd wahanol ac yn bod yn fwy gynhrych ac yn pragmatig, nid ydyn nhw'n meddwl y bydd y chwarae'n cael hanner o'r cydymffurfiad

y byddent efallai wedi'i gael eisoes. Ond mae'n fy swydd i gadw'r pethau hynny i'w gynnal ac i gael nhw ar y cwrs. Mae'r gwirionedd yn credu yn llawer yn yr hyn y maen nhw'n ei wneud. Roedd yn ddangos i mi hynny ar Arsenal, oherwydd roedd yna ddau ddwy ffansesol. Roedd gennym ni rhai foment mawr, ac mae'n rhaid i ni ymddiried y bydd y gwaith yn cynhyrchu'r canlyniadau, fel y gwnaeth yn ystod y 14 neu 15 mis diwethaf. Ond, wrth edrych ar hyn, ydych chi'n ymddiriedol i ddysgu y rhai hynny? Oherwydd rydych chi wedi mynd y ffordd hwnnw o'r blaen, gan wneud y llwybr hwnnw o'r Cwmniad i'r Llyfrgell. Felly, rydych chi'n deall

bod efallai ar amser, eich bod chi'n llai o'r hyder. Eich bod chi wedi gweld llawer o TV Llyfrgell ar y bocs ac, yn gyffredinol, rydych chi'n llinellu tuag at y chwaraewyr hynny. Ac ar y cyfnod cyntaf o'r wythnosau o'r flwyddyn, mae'n rhywbeth fel, ydw i'n perthyn i chi? Ac mae'n ymwneud â, yw fy mod i'n perthyn i chi? Ie. Ac mae'n ymwneud â chael eich ffyrdd. Ie, rwy'n credu. Roedden ni'n ymwybodol o hynny. Roeddwn i'n ymwybodol o hynny. Ac rwy'n credu ein bod ni wedi gwneud peth mawr i geisio

ddim gwneud peth mor fawr i'r Llywodraeth Prifysgol i rai o'r chwaraewyr. Felly rwy'n credu bod gennym rhai o'r rhai sydd wedi mynd i ofal y llyfr y llyfrau diwethaf. Ac pan wnaethant fynd drwy'r peth, gwnaethant sy'n sylweddoli bod y gwerthoedd yn fawr os ydyn nhw'n ymwneud â'r gwaith rydyn ni'n ei wneud ar y peth hyfforddiant went for a bit of pain last year and when they got through it they realised the rewards are massive for in if they stick to the work that we do on the training pitch and they stay brave and the way they play and when they win in that way they feel really brilliant and that was validated in the best way by getting promotion at the end of the season because we did have some tough periods in the season so now we have a lot of new players that haven't seen the other side yet so they're

going for a tough moment we all are together but we've got half of the team made up of new players that haven't then felt the turning point, the tipping point of when you get a result and you get through the tough period and they go, oh actually the evidence is there for them. So we need them to feel that as quickly as possible. They know how much we care about them, they know how much work we put into it and how much belief we have in them. Because if I didn't believe in the players to play in this way, we would change it. We can coach other things, we can coach in a different way, but I would struggle to convince people if I didn't really believe in it on them. So we continue on this path because we really believe in them and really believe

in it as a game model, whatever you want to call it. The rest we have no control over, apart from how hard we can work and what we do and the processes. It's something the players are really a big part of. The signs are there, though, aren't they? Because performance-wise, when you can pick little bits out of each game, so Newcastle away, Manchester United at home

until the penalty, there's loads of positive signs. So how frustrating is they haven't quite converted into points? It's so frustrating. I think we are evidencing all the time to the players the stuff that's good. Felly, pa mor ffrustrwythol yw'r ffordd nad ydynt wedi'i gyflawni i'r pob? Mae'n ffrustrwythol iawn. Rwy'n credu ein bod yn dangos i'r chwaraewyr bob amser y pethau sy'n dda. Felly, mae'r ffordd mae'r tîm yn perfformio yn rhan o'r math, yn ystadegol, mewn rhai o'r ardaloedd, ac mae'r pethau sy'n eithaf pwysig i ni ar hyn o bryd yn hyfryd i'w gweld.

Ac mae'n amgylch ychydig o bobl yn y Lleolfa Prymier, o ran pan fydd pobl yn edrych ac yn dweud, dyna'n ddiddorol i'r tîm sydd newydd ei gyhoeddi. Ond nid oes unrhyw un yn gobeithio os nad ydych chi'n gweithio. Yn wir, mae'r gwaith da wedi'i ddefnyddio o gwmpas chi ar y gwleidyddol. Felly mae fy swydd i'w geisio cadw ymlaen o'r fwyaf o sgwrs o bosibl. Gwarchod iddyn nhw. Ie, cadw nhw ar y tref ac i ddweud iddyn nhw fod yn rhaid iddyn nhw cadw'n fwy a chadw'n mwynhau

ymlaen o'r broses y gallant ac yna gobeithio y bydd y canlyniadau'n mynd i'r ddilyn. Rydyn ni wedi gweld chi mewn cyfweliadau ar ôl y gwrs, yn agored iawn, yn onest, yn self-critig. Sut o bwysig yw hynny i chi, i fod yn arbennig fel hynny? I mi, mae'n bwysig mwyaf. Dwi'n credu bod gen i ddweud hynny cyn dechrau'r seson. Dwi'n dweud bod y her i ni i gyd yn bod yn ein hunain, ac i fod yn ein hunain o dan llawer o sgrinio yn y sbotlaeth, yn y Lleolfa Prymier a phopeth hynny. Ond dwi'n credu bod unrhyw fwyaf o fwydr a rheolwr, and to be ourselves under a lot of scrutiny and in the spotlight in the Premier League and all that. But I think for any leader and any manager, the one thing I always respected and valued the most

was authenticity, someone who was themself and was honest. And I always really respected honesty. Sometimes it's hard to find the game. Yeah, but sometimes I didn't like the honesty because it wasn't the right thing for me. Or as a player, when you have a selfish... Mindset. Yeah, of course, when you have a selfish mindset yeah of course because you have to when a manager was honest and I didn't like it I still had respect

for it after when I sat there with him and go okay at least he's been honest so when it didn't go well with at Norwich under Daniel at the end I didn't like that I was out of the squad but I really respected it because he was honest and actually it taught me a really big lesson. Well you learned from that experience? Yeah yeah yeah and I've had to have similar conversations with players and Roeddwn i'n ymddiriedol iawn amdano, oherwydd roedd yn onest ac yn gwbl yn cynghori i mi. Ydych chi wedi dysgu o'r profiad hwnnw? Ie, ac rwyf wedi cael sgyrsiau tebyg â chwaraeion. Felly, roeddwn i wedi cymryd llawer o hynny. Felly, rwy'n credu bod yn onest â chwaraeion, bod yn gofalu'n llawer â'r hyn rwy'n ei wneud, a ddim yn dod yn fwy o ddiddorol am unrhyw un o'r rhai oherwydd rwy'n caru'r gêm.

Rwy'n ymddiheulol iawn am y swydd rwy'n ymwneud â'r gêm. Ac i ddweud y gwir, byddwn i'n fy hun a byddwn i'n croesawu fy ngwneud a'i gobeithio y bydd hynny'n ddigon. Mae un gwrthdawr yn newid yr holl agwedd, mae'n newid popeth. then cross my fingers and pray that will be enough. I mean, one win changes the whole aspect, doesn't it? It changes everything because it's not like you go to drift. You're very close, the whole bot mate's really tight. So one win changes everyone's perspective. Yeah, and I think it shows how tough the Premier League is now, the amount of teams that are going to be touch and go for a long time, I think.

But it changes how the table looks, it changes the feeling, it changes the... Boys come in with a little bit more positivity. Yeah, of course. But edrych, mae'n newid y teimlad, mae'n newid y... Mae'r bobl yn dod â mwy o ddysgu yn y adeilad. Ie, wrth gwrs. Ond i fod yn onest, os oes gennych chi ddod i mewn i'r adeilad nawr, dydw i ddim yn credu y byddwn ni'n teimlo fel sefydliad sydd wedi bod yn anodd. Ond yn sicr, rydych chi'n hyfforddus yn y sefyllfa rydych chi'n ei gael. Rydych chi'n disgwyl bod yn y lle rydych chi'n ei gael. Rwy'n credu ein bod yn ffrustrwedig mewn ffordd da iawn. Felly, nid ydym yn eistedd yno a dweud,

Yn y Lleolau Prifysgol, mae'r ffordd sydd yn fwy ac nid ydym yn mynd i gael cymaint amdano. So we're not sitting there going, the Premier League is a beast and we're not going to have enough for it. If anything, I feel like the guys have shown us in a lot of moments that we can actually really be OK here. We just need that win to release a bit of tension for some of the players and also probably everyone at the club, the crowd, the staff. Because football is so much easier when you win isn't it? That was always going to be the challenge for us this year from going to trying to win a league and trying to get out of it to trying to stay in it. That change of mentality is really difficult so we try not to place too much emphasis on trying to avoid something, we're trying to chase something which is to be the best team we can be and try and improve as much as we can. So yeah I think we always have to have a perspective of that because

it is tough but so exciting, the challenge every week, make the man city away. The challenge is huge and I'm really excited about what's to come. Let's talk about Vincent Kompany because has he changed the game from a coaching perspective? So he went really strong with his beliefs and the way he wanted to play, his philosophy with Burnley. He came under criticism criticism he rode that criticism and ultimately it ended in failure he got relegated but off the back of that Vincent's got one of the biggest jobs in European football so does that give new fan coaches the determination to stick with their style? I'm not sure if that will because I don't think most of us don't have the comfort blanket

of winning most things in the game as a player, and being a top, top player, and working with really brilliant, brilliant managers. And that's not discrediting Vinny as a manager at all. He was amazing at Burnley. The season we played against him in the Championship at Swansea, they were the best team I've seen in the Championship.

They were fantastic. I didn't watch enough of them last season to know how much they stuck to what they did in the Championship. But I think if you really believe in something Gwych. Dydw i ddim wedi gweld llawer ohonynt yn y llynedd yma i wybod sut maen nhw wedi cymryd yn y cwmpas. Ond rwy'n credu, os ydych chi'n credu yn rhywbeth fel coed, rheolwr neu arweinydd, yna mae'r logig i mi yn bod chi'n dal i fyny gyda'r cwmpas a'i gwneud yn well yn hytrach na mynd yn fawr i ffwrdd. A chi wedi bod yn y drefniadau lle byddai rheolwr wedi dweud ar ddechrau'r llynedd, byddwn yn chwarae'n y ffordd honno, ac yna, pan na fydd yn mynd i'w chwarae,

byddwch yn dechrau newid ac yna mae'n anodd iawn i chi ddod yn ôl â'r hyn rydych chi eisiau a'r hyn rydych chi wedi dechrau a'r hyn rydych chi wedi ei ddweud. And then the minute it doesn't quite go to plan, you start changing. And then it's really hard to get back what you want and what you started out and what you set out. There's probably no way back, is there? I don't think so. I think once you end up going down that route, it's really difficult to get it back. I've not seen anyone get it back properly after that. And then we have a lot of managers come in after they've lost their job because they're interested probably to see some of the madness. And I think managers just like to, when they're out of a job,

to go and have a look at other things and I never say no to anyone. So if they're interested in coming in, I always say yes because we can take as much from them as they, well, we'll take more from them than they will from us. But the one thing they always say is they regret changing or then the pressure take over

and results affect what they wanted at the start. And of course you can tweak and adapt but can you tweak and adapt without losing what's really important to you? And I think so many of them feel they lost that and then it's a real problem. But that must be easier said than done because when the door's closed

and you've taken in all the outside information and everything around you, to stay true to your values must take a real strength of character um i think so yeah stubbornness or conviction in what you are like i do think there's a difference between being stubborn and having conviction so i think i'm really open to opinion and to um you can't be too open can you know but to the people that matter so my bosses to the staff the players they all have an opinion and And I have to listen to that

because I work with these people every day. I have the responsibility of leading them. But then if I disagree with an opinion to make sure people have an understanding of why and why something's really important. And my job as a coach, as a leader, is to make sure everyone understands why we're doing what we're doing.

And then to make sure they are fully on board with what we're doing. And the players, honestly, they will change things sometimes because they don't like it. So I'll always ask them in training and then they'll suggest something and actually, yeah, okay, that works better for you. yn llwyr o'r hyn rydyn ni'n ei wneud. Ac mae'r chwaraewyr yn onest, byddant yn newid pethau weithiau oherwydd nad ydyn nhw'n hoffi'r pethau. Felly byddaf yn gofyn iddyn nhw yn y hyfforddiad ac yna byddant yn cynghori rhywbeth ac yn gwneud, wel, mae hynny'n gweithio'n well i chi. Mae hynny'n mynd yn ôl at ddysgu.

Ie, yn sicr. Ac rwy'n meddwl, os oeddwn i'n chwaraewyr ar y pethau nawr, byddwn i eisiau bod yn rhan o'r broses. Ie, oherwydd roeddwn i'n gweithio'n ddigon o ddysgu, ond byddwn i'n hoffi bod yn cydnabod i farn i, beth ydych chi'n meddwl am hynny? Ydych chi'n hoffi hynny? Yn hytrach na bod yn cael ei ddweud yn gyfan bob amser, dyma'r hyn rydych chi'n eida i mi ddweud wrth fy modd, beth ydych chi'n meddwl amdano? Ydych chi'n hoffi hynny? Yn hytrach na bod yn cael ei ddweud yn unigol, mae'n dweud, dyma beth rydych chi'n ei wneud. Neu, yn gwaethaf, mae'n gweithio i ddweud y gwir. Ac yna, mae'n cael ei ddweud. Dwi'n credu ei fod yn gwneud i chi teimlo yn fwy rhan o hyn hefyd. Rwy'n gobeithio.

Rwy'n gobeithio. Byddwn yn rhannu llawer o'u perfformiadau yn unigol ac yn eu unedau. Ac wrth i'r amser y bydd yn dod i'r tîm, mae ganddyn nhw ddweud yn unigol beth maen nhw'n meddwl amdano. Yna, mae'n rhan o'u unedau gyda'i gilydd a'u cysylltiadau. Yna, wrth i'r amser y bydd yn dod i'r tîm, gallant ei gysylltu â'r ardal arall o'r pitch a'r unn y maen nhw'n meddwl, yna mae'n rhan o'u uned ynghyd a'u cysylltiadau. Yn ystod y amser mae'n dod at y tîm ac yn gallu'i gysylltu â'r ardal arall y pitch ac un uned arall ar y pitch, yna dwi'n meddwl ei bod yn helpu eu dysgu a'u dealltwriaeth, yna gallant helpu ein gilydd a helpu ein gilydd i fyw. Ac rwy'n meddwl mai'n ein swydd i geisioogi i'r rhai ohonyn nhw fod yn arweinwyr neu teimlo'n hyfforddiol a chael sylw. Hefyd, bod yn hyfforddiol i wneud

gweithgareddau a bod yn anoddol gyda'i gilydd. Rwy'n credu ei fod yn bwysig iawn iawn oherwydd mae to feel comfortable and have an opinion and also be comfortable making mistakes and being vulnerable with each other. I think it's really, really important because football is like a... Take the mask off. Yeah, a big macho world where everyone has to pretend to be something else and someone else and really strong and all that stuff. And it's not the reality. And being on the other side of the fence as a manager now, it's made me realise more than ever, it's not the reality that they're human beings and they feel things a lot. And if we can have an environment where they're comfortable doing that and expressing that, then I think the better for them as people and the better for us things a lot. And if we can have an environment where they're comfortable doing that and expressing that, then I think the better for them as people

and the better for us as a group. I read a really interesting interview with you. It definitely wasn't with me if it was really interesting. It was. I found it interesting. Tell me if we sit down on the 26th of May 2025,

what a successful year at Southampton would look like. I'm still the Southampton manager, mate. I'll be happy. I'll'll be happy I'll see you still a Premier League team and the team that I feel

proud to be part of and I think I'll be either way whatever happens if they've tried to do what we were asking them

to do and they've been brave I'll be really happy right we'll book the table look forward to it thank you mate

top man