A teatime stroll and no phone calls after 9pm: St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson on how he deals with managerial pressure
Stephen Robinson has opened up on the demands of football management and admits he could write a book on what goes on behind the scenes.
The St Mirren gaffer provided an insight into the intensity of the job amidst the pressure to produce performances and get results.
Two Premiership managers have already been axed this season with Craig Levein sacked by St Johnstone and Steven Naismith shown the door by Hearts.
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Down south, young Portsmouth boss John Mousinho recently told how his wife ticks him off for analysing footage on the laptop in bed and writing tactical notes on napkins when they are out socialising.
Robbo can relate with the lengths some managers go to in order to leave no stone unturned and gain an advantage.
And while the Northern Irishman has learned of the need to have time away from the game, he acknowledges it is all-consuming.
He said: “I remember Mark McGhee [former Motherwell manager] said to me, ‘Wait until you sit on this side of the desk’. I say that to numerous people that want to manage and it’s a whole different ball game.
“You learn as you go. I’m certainly not the finished article now, I’m learning every day. I could write a book about things that happen on a daily basis at the club and every club I’ve been at.
“Listen, you don’t switch off. I try and go for a walk with my wife [Robyn] every day around about half five to half six and I try and not touch my phone or talk about football and just give her an hour of my time.
“But as soon as you get back to your phone you think, ‘Flip, I wish I had that with me because there’s been 15 missed calls.
“It’s hard to switch off, it’s so intense, it’s non-stop. You’re managing 30 young men, you’re managing a football club with all their staff as well so it’s difficult to switch off. But I’ve learnt over time that you need to for your own sanity; you need to have away-from-football time, which I do with my dogs.
“I take them out for an hour with my wife and just try and switch off for that hour. You learn that you can only do so much and there has to be a switch-off point.
“I try and not answer my phone after 8pm or 9pm at night now instead of sitting up at midnight talking to people because it can be done tomorrow if it’s not that necessary. So yeah, you learn. I’m still learning.
“My wife might disagree that I switch my phone off by the way when she reads this but it’s a tough, brutal industry and you only get a short crack at it and you have to do everything in your power to make it successful.”
It’s all about three points on a Saturday for everyone connected to a football club. But when those moments of triumph arrive, is it relief or enjoyment for Robbo?
“It’s relief,” he revealed. “You enjoy them for probably 10 minutes after the game and then somebody says, ‘What are we doing on Monday?’ Then you’re back on to it again straight away. Every manager is the same. I’m certainly no special case, I assure you.”
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