Every word from Narcis Pelach in his first interview as Stoke City head coach
Narcis Pelach has been appointed as the new head coach at Stoke City, ready to take charge of the team for the first time on Friday night against Hull in the Championship. In his first interview for the club website, he spelled out what the opportunity means to him, what his approach will be and why he is more than excited about what lies ahead.
What does it mean to be appointed head coach at Stoke City?
Pelach: It’s such a big thing, of course because it’s a great opportunity for me. I couldn’t expect to have the offer of such a big club. More than excitement I feel the responsibility of the job and it is like a pay off for all the hard work I’ve done over the years. I’m very grateful. It means a lot to me and my family of course because this club has given me the opportunity to show I can be a good head coach, one thing I didn’t do in this country yet, and I just can’t thank John Coates and Jon Walters enough for giving me the opportunity of coming here and showing I can do this job.
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You’ve had other opportunities to become a head coach so why does Stoke feel like the right club?
Sometimes in life, things click. The timings, the moments. I had other opportunities to become head coach, not just in England but in other countries, but I just felt it was not the right moment for me. But when I received the call from Stoke City, it’s such a big club, I know about the history of the club and I just felt that if this can happen and they really feel I am the man for a job it is something I cannot refuse. That would’ve been against my values and everything I have fought for. It felt like the right moment. I’ve spent five years in the Championship, I know the country, I know the language, I know the players, I know the league. I’m ready and want to do it.
What did your discussions with John Coates and Jon Walters centre on?
I’m the first foreign manager that the Coates family have appointed so it’s something totally different. I think that John Coates and Jon Walters wanted to try something different in another direction. Of course I represent that change. I saw in their eyes that they really wanted to go away and try another methodology, another philosophy, another identity, culture, something totally new and they thought I was the right man for that. This is obviously something that was important for me because I saw it in their eyes they really fancied that. I think I can bring this into the club.
Of course I’m Spanish, I’ve lived with another culture, identity, values but I’ve been here for five years and I know the British culture, I want to be here, I enjoy being here, this country is just the best place to be. When I saw John Coates and Jon Walters really wanting that and I knew that if they wanted me I was going to say yes because I can give this change to the club.
It was really interesting to meet John Coates and listen to him talking about the club. He just loves the club. It’s difficult to find an owner that cares that much. I’ve been in different places with different owners and sporting directors but they really want this to be successful. This passion and this connection really suits me. As soon as I am in, I’m in, totally in.
That’s one thing that just clicked and I felt, oof, these two guys talking like this. I really want to be part of that. We are going to do things not just with the brain, we are going to do things with the heart and I believe in living life with emotion and being part of something bigger than yourself.
You’ve been on a long coaching journey - can you explain your coaching career to date?
I stopped playing football very young, by the age of 26. I was coaching under-18s, under-19s at that moment in the fourth tier of Spain where I was playing. The same club I was playing for offered me the opportunity to become head coach and that was probably my biggest change because all of a sudden I was coaching my teammates. I was 26, a very young man, and you feel like you know everything but you know nothing. I just did it and it went very well, I stayed two years at the club and then Girona came for me to coach in the third tier. It was another opportunity, another challenge, something bigger, a bigger level. I enjoyed that for two years as well, it went very well, and then I changed my role in football because people who are more experienced than me and wise than me gave me advice to see football from another perspective. They felt that as an assistant coach I could learn more rather than doing just managerial jobs – and they were right. I thank them today because in the five years I have been as an assistant I have learned lots of things.
In England I worked with Carlos Corberan, which I am grateful for as well, a great coach and different methods. He worked with Marcelo Bielsa, which gave me a lot of perspective on methodology and how to teach, how to coach in a different way. Then I lived a strange season at Huddersfield Town in a relegation fight with Danny Schofield, Mark Fotheringham and Neil Warnock, which was a surprise for me and someone I can’t forget – nor Ronnie (Jepson) – because they are wise, they have experience, they know the game and how to manage. These four months were great for me to work with Neil Warnock, someone (I would not have expected to) work for with my characteristics. But I was there and got the chance to see them and it was impressive.
With David Wagner last season it was another great experience. A great manager. We made the play-offs and it was very nice.
After seeing all them it is time to put all that knowledge into work, of course being myself and never getting away from that. I have had the chance to see, to learn, to listen and from a position where you have less stress, just coaching. Now it’s the time to challenge myself and go into the next thing.
How beneficial has it been to be exposed to those different styles of play and managers?
Very good. I have gone from one extreme to the other, from Juan Carlos Unzue at Girona represents the Barcelona methodology, which was great for me to see. He had worked with Pep Guardiola for lots of years and saw all his methodology. It was not just being given the things, you are experiencing the thing on the pitch. Then go to the other extreme, another approach to the game, but you can take benefits from both. Neil, David’s German style, Mark Fotheringham’s Scottish… British, Spanish… I think I’m in a good place for the age I am, 36, but your learning never ends. You think you know things but it’s constant learning and hopefully one day I will be 60 with the same approach because I feel life is about that, making mistakes and getting better and reflection. But I have seen a lot and I have been close to great managers. I am grateful to the people who have opened doors for me, which is not easy. This knowledge I think will help me.
Can you give us an insight into the values and principles you will uphold as head coach?
That’s an easy question but a long answer. To make it easy and simple, knowing where I come from is not something I can deny. I’ve had to work a lot to get to where I am today, I’ve had to think a lot as well. I want great versatility. I want to create a team that is complete, that is able to manage each phase of the game, able to compete. I don’t want to see a team that can attack but not defend because that won’t represent me. I have had to fight a lot to get to where I am and I want to see that in my team; this personality, this fight, this application, this competitiveness. It’s something that is in me and I need to see it otherwise I’m uncomfortable.
You will have all seen Spain in the Euros and this is what we do in my country, we grow up like this and we have it inside. When we have the ball we want to have possession as much as possible but we will not go to the extreme because I need to make sure the team knows how to defend, how to attack. The team needs to be strong at set plays and good at the five phases of the game. I know that if you want to achieve that you might not be excellent at any of them but I’m ok with that because I want a versatile team. I know that in one game there are a thousand games. If you are losing with 20 minutes to go, you are attacking against a low block so you need to know how to do that but all of a sudden you are winning, you need to defend in the last 15 minutes… I want my team to be comfortable inside this game that is changing constantly. The way I say it is a versatile team that is able to compete in each phase. This is what I want to create.
Of course there will be a Spanish influence in the way we attack, there will be a Spanish influence in how we defend – not man orientated, we will defend space and the ball. That is something that inside me as well. But I need to see the players on the pitch knowing that it is the last game, the last ball. If there is not power, aggression and energy in the game it will not represent me and I will be uncomfortable. I will push them to do it because that is not negotiable for me.
What can players expect from you in training sessions and on match days?
It will be different for them I think. Some of them are experienced players and will have seen a lot already but the methodology is different. The way to train with an intensity is something that will be there every day, an environment where you are challenged a lot, sometimes not comfortable, meetings and things to be said that sometimes they will not like but to be honest, I don’t care, they have to be professional and take things and if you want to get better in life you have to go through difficult stuff. I understand the game like this. If you want to get better and want to win, you have to listen to the bad things, you need to criticise yourself, you need to put your standards very high. This team is very hungry and very young, I want to take this opportunity and bring this club to a higher level. I think it will happen naturally and players will see it and come onboard.
What will players get in return from you?
I will be fair. I will be demanding and they will have to listen to things that maybe they don’t want but it will never be personal, it will be professional. It will be about the player, not the person, because of the team and how we want to perform. I think they know they are in an elite environment and this is how you need to live your life. It’s about being demanding and pushing yourself and I’ll try to be there all the time, making sure the team is growing all the time, win, lose or draw, working hard and not thinking too much, being in the present, thinking about the next game but not thinking about big expectations or things I think that could stop you to perform at the best level you can in the next training session or game. It will happen naturally with time and getting to know each other.
What do you make of the squad of players you have inherited?
The advantage that I have is that I know the Championship, I know all the players and coaches just from the time I have been here preparing opposition game plans for David and other coaches I have worked with. I had to work a lot and see a lot and it means I know all the players. The new ones, of course I have had a look at already with my people, and we know what they are all about. We have created something already that will suit them. It’s not something that Narcis comes here and wants to do so the thing is about me and they have to come close to what I am. I am not that kind of coach, I don’t want to be this type of coach. What I did is see what they are, see what they can do and create something for them so it’s more natural.
Tomorrow when we start we will work on that, we will explain what it is, the style of play, which is the most important thing, but I know them, I know what they can do. The level of the squad is good, I believe in the players we have, I am comfortable with them. I see players with potential. There is a lot of things to work on and they understand that ok there is potential but this is the Championship. There is a lot to work on and lots to be done to become a competitive team that you can rely on. What I want to create is something that whether you are away or at home, you are going to compete, win or maybe draw, lose, it’s football you don’t know but we are going to compete. That’s my priority, knowing that the style of play is in place, knowing that they know what they’re going to do and knowing they understand their actions, that they are playing football together, they are not just doing things off the cuff.
Why do you like working with younger players?
Usually they are very hungry, which is one thing that suits me. I like to see passion, I want to see players who want to get better, I want to see this ambition every day, players next to me who are willing for the next thing, knowing they have to perform for today, being clever in this and not wanting to go that fast. I want to have ambitious next to me who are thinking big. Young players usually have that. Not all of them and you can see it in older players as well. The age is something I’m not going to be looking at too much. I will look at the man, how he behaves, how he performs, what he gives for the football club and that he is ready to commit. As long as they commit and are ready to give, we’re going to work well together.
How important will the older players be in terms of setting standards?
I expect them to lead that. I’m a coach who likes to be close to the senior ones. I think you need them. It’s not that you as a manager need them, it’s that the team and the club needs them. They have experience and that is something you cannot buy in life. At 36 there are things you don’t know, at 55 you know much more. Of course with reflection, studying and putting in lots of hours you can win more experience earlier but usually players who have been around for a long time have something very valuable to give. The responsibility is to lead, to come into the building and set the standards. If a young player needs to focus more on a training session, the senior player can be thinking on more things. They have a responsibility. I will try to talk to them and I expect them to do it. The club is paying them for this as well and they have to do it.
What are you like on the training pitch and in the analysis room?
I love analysis. One of the rooms I like most at the training ground is the analysts’ department. I’m a big fan of this. I like to watch, to analyse and I do it a lot myself and usually we get a long very well but I believe in planned review, planning what you want to do, do it and review that. It’s a varying process. If you do it and you don’t review, you don’t know why you did the things right or wrong and there is no progression into the game and into your development. I like to watch, review and put in lots of meetings. Analysis is something very important for me.
What is it about football in England that keeps you here?
The best thing about English football is the passion. You don’t see that in Spain. If you compare La Liga to the Premier League or Championship, you don’t see that. In Spain the culture is different. You go to the stadium to see passes and people are happy if you see aesthetic football. The passion is much less. People don’t care that much or at that level about winning. There is more things to do because of the weather and stadiums are not that full. It was very surprising for me when I first came and saw the atmosphere in the second division. I was really impressed. You can breathe football, smell football. The thing you can smell is the history of the whole thing, people cheering about corners and tackles, which you don’t see in Spain. Spanish coaches coming here have the feeling that we are coming to the best country. Of course the Spanish league is very good, the level is unbelievable but we feel this is the place to be. That’s why lots of coaches are in the Premier League and lots of coaches in Spain would like to be here. The passion, the stadium is full, fans caring about the score, seeing their father, grandfather and kid going together. It’s nice to see, a culture I want to be part of. When you are in the game you know it’s important and if you win or lose today it’s going to shape the emotions one way or another. That’s special.
What have you learned about what demands the Championship places on players and coaches?
It’s a hard league, a tough league, very, very tough. The level is big. If you underestimate opponents you underestimate the league and you are going to get it wrong. You never know in the Championship where the points are. You could be going to play against the bottom team at home or away and if you feel you are going to win the game, you are wrong. If you didn’t study or analyse the game enough or you don’t know the league, the coaches or the players, you are wrong. Any team can hurt you.
I’ve been at Norwich City, a top team, a top five or six team before the start of the season and it was really hard for us to get into the play-offs. Really hard. We had to work a lot. We had to go through difficult times. We were 17t at one point in the season and we had to come back from that. We finished sixth and we had amazing players but it was really hard to go to Preston and win 1-0. This tells you how difficult it is all the time. If you don’t live your professional day by day thinking there are things that can hurt me, you don’t have a chance. It’s tough and you need to make sure you compete every three days in the maximum way.
At Huddersfield Town we had a small team knowing that to get one point was an achievement, knowing that we were in the bottom five in terms of money… we got 82 points and were close to automatic promotion. It says that if you get it right and do something clever and collect the points, not only the style and structure – which is important but not everything – emotionally people are there. I believe in this, I’m going to work hard for this, if it goes I’m going to stay on it, it can happen.
We were at Wembley by creating momentum with style of play, with emotion, with energy, with being together with team spirit and fight. At some point in the league we were going into games thinking we were going to do it today. Fulham away, why not?! You know it won’t always click. It’s football, it’s complex, but at least you have to try to do as many things as possible and at the right moment for the players, right moment for coaches and everything clicking together or not, it doesn’t depend just on the coach. A team is much bigger than a manager. If you think it’s happening just because of you, you are wrong. It’s happening because he is hungry, he is maybe not that hungry but brings experience and composure, the coach cares and everything gets together, gels together.
We don’t know what is going to happen. It’s exciting. Our commitment should be to try to put as many things in place as possible.
What can supporters expect from you as head coach?
I’ll try to be myself. If I am not that I am giving myself up. I know the job will put me under pressure. I have seen a lot of coaches and at 74 or 36 or 50 they are under pressure. At some point you feel it all the time but that’s the job, something normal that happens and you can’t change much what you want to do, just keep following your plan. It’s about how you react. If you change things under pressure you will have a problem. It’s something normal and something you have to accept.
What do you hope to achieve for the owner, staff and supporters in the short and long term?
I spoke with my best friend, who is playing the game, and he said if I have to ask you one question, it is what is the dream? What is it that you would like to see? I would like to connect the points. I think I have the character for getting that, step by step. It might take time, maybe not, maybe it can go fast, but I would like to connect the fans with the players with the staff with the board. All together, everyone feeling we are discovering something different. I want them to feel that if Stoke City is playing tomorrow, let’s go to the stadium and cheer these guys on because they fight, they win or lose but they are there, they feel they want to connect, they don’t want to be alone, they want to be in the stadium playing against Hull City thinking it’s 25,000 against 11 here, not 11 vs 11, someone else is helping me.
That’s difficult to achieve but there are no limits. Let’s see what happens.