Managers and staff leaving a club is never a nice thing for players. It creates an environment of uncertainty and need for clarity. When the departure comes mid-season, the games keep coming, and everyone just has to keep going.
It was three weeks exactly between Stuart Kettlewell’s departure and the arrival of new manager Michael Wimmer, and in that time there were two games. Unfortunately for Motherwell, both those games ended in defeat, but the arrival of the new manager is the clarity everyone needed, and for Andy Halliday, the excitement to work under the new boss is prominent.
“In terms of the previous manager leaving, it was obviously a bit of a shock to everyone,” Andy Halliday said.
“The brutal nature of football is that you have to switch back onto the job at hand. It’s obviously been a transition, but there’s always an element of excitement within that. The gaffer has come in with a great pedigree of working with big clubs in Germany and Austria.
“We’ve had a short period of time to get the new style imbedded, and as a group of players, we always want clarity on how we’re going to play as a team. He’s made it clear what he expects from us, but it’s been great to get all the information so far. As a player, we need to be a sponge and take it all in.”
The appointment of German Michael Wimmer marked the club taking a different approach. The first non-British and Irish manager since Harri Kampman in 1998, Wimmer arrives having previously managed Austria Vienna for 18 months. With a foreign manager arriving at Fir Park, there’s always going to be alterations to the working week, and that has been clear from the off.
“I always feel anytime I’ve worked under a foreign manager, there’s been a more tactical approach,” Andy Halliday adds.
“It’s great because it’s so important in the game right now. Gone are the days when you put 11 names on a sheet of paper, say you’re playing 4-4-2 and go and get the job done. That’s a reflection of how tactical the game is now.
“We’ve not got eight or 12 weeks in pre-season to work on different facets; we’ve got a few days where we take in as much as humanly possible. The time has been spent wisely; we’ve had double sessions and meetings every morning, and we’re just trying to take it all in. New managers and turnovers take time, but as players, we don’t have time. It’s all about results; we’ll try and implement everything as soon as possible.
“There are similarities to the previous regime, but there are also things that are completely different. It’s all about pressing and high intensity. Change can sometimes be good; it’s a clean slate for everyone and a chance for us to impress the new manager. That leads to competition for places, which I think ensures everyone gives a little extra. You want the jersey, and when you get it, you want to keep it.”
It’s been an injury-ridden season for the Motherwell squad, with over ten first-team players missing from matchdays, but it’s also meant a large contingent of players. However, Halliday has been able to navigate the campaign without missing a match.
“I’ve played every game so far this season, which is important to me,” he explained.
“Last season was a frustration. Going from not playing for six months to coming and breaking down with a calf injury, the first muscle injury I’d had since I was a teenager. I thought I would recover quickly, and then I picked up a hamstring injury on the second last day of the season.
“But it was maybe a blessing in disguise, as it meant I focused on my rehab all summer, making sure my body was ready for preseason. It prepared me for a long season, and it’s resulted in me playing in every game.
“Like most, I’ve been happy with most of my performances. Yes, there’ve been bits within games or certain games I should’ve done more in, but I’m happy overall so far. But I’ll never change; I only care about what the team is doing. Success will never be how many man of the matches, player of the months or player of the year awards you win; none of that. It’s all about how many points you get on the board.”
Away from Motherwell, Halliday is not one for sitting around on the couch. 11 months ago, he launched his own football academy, where he helps nurture and coach young players alongside his brother.
“I think it’s something I’ve been interested in since I was maybe 26 or 27,” he noted.
“I’ve always loved the tactical side of the game, different styles and ideas. Having played under so many coaches, I’ve picked up things I liked and things I don’t like. I decided when I was 26 to start my B licence; I’ve since got my A and coached under 18s and 20s. I then decided to start the academy.
“It’s been 11 months, and I’m delighted with how it’s going. I said before I came to Motherwell that I loved seeing Scottish footballers having a pathway to the first-team. I have a real passion for youth development, so it made sense to start my own thing.
“At the end of the day, we’ll never not take boys at all development stages. I was at development football at one point; so was every player in the dressing room, so we’ll never be the ones to say we’re only taking advanced players because we feel they’ve got a better opportunity.
“It’s a real reward to see boys coming in with a smile on their face, willing to learn and wanting to listen; they’ve been with me, and then they get their opportunity to go into academies. I won’t say the exact number of players who’ve gone from grassroots to academy, but it’s high, and that’s really rewarding.
“But for me, we’re only a 1% part of whatever that player’s journey is. They’ve been coached by other people, and they’ve been with their teams. If we can make a small difference, then that’s great. We’ve got nine coaches that work for us, and we have a blueprint that we expect our coaches to abide by.
“A big thing we talk about is if the players are there for an hour, they must have a ball at their feet at all times. It’s all about getting as many touches of the ball as they can and repetitions, whether that’s working on the basics or more advanced, and making it a fun and engaging environment. If they’re enjoying their football, they want to do it more, and if they do it more, they’ll improve.
“When I was a kid, I could play football for 12 hours and not get bored. I see that in a lot of young kids now. They come straight from school to train with us and then go to their grassroots team at night. For me, that’s refreshing to see because over the last number of years, I don’t think you see the same amount of kids playing on the streets.”
The academy project has been a successful one thus far for Halliday. But what has made this journey more special is that his most trusted and loyal friend is by his side. His younger brother, Robbie.
“He’s actually got more coaching experience than I do,” he laughed.
“My younger brother was at Partick Thistle’s youth academy as a coach for six or seven years. He’s played junior football for over a decade and got his A-License before me. So he’s well qualified.
“He’s someone I always lean on. Everyone has that person who, after a game they’ve watched or played in, they’ll go to and trust their opinion a bit more than others. He’s always been that person for me. With all due respect to the boys in the dressing room, I tend to talk to him more about the games than I do with them.
“We do have similar ideas about how the game should be played, and it was always the idea that if I started something, it was always going to be with him. I took an Under 20s team a couple of years ago, and it was with him. We’ve always had a close relationship.
“Although we have similar ideas, there is stuff we disagree on as well, which is good. It’s healthy, and it always leads to a constructive conversation where we try and find that middle ground to take things forward. He’s got good experience in terms of his own playing career, but he’s also got a strong coaching background too. It’s not because he’s my brother that we do this.
“If he was hopeless, I wouldn’t do it with him! It’s as simple as that. We’ve got a good mix, and everything is going according to plan so far.”
