3/1 To Win
Gary Rowett played with some big characters during his playing days - and he’s happy to have a similar type in his Derby County dressing room.
During a career spanning well over 400 games, Rowett played alongside the likes of Igor Stimac at Derby, Neville Southall and Dave Watson at Everton and Gerry Taggart and Matt Elliott at Leicester City.
There are plenty more as well; but those are individuals that certainly stand out in Rowett’s mind.
Derby’s manager sat down with RamsTV this week for an in-depth look at the 2017/18 campaign to date and highlighted how important good characters are within the squad.
The Rams sit in second place in the Sky Bet Championship with 20 games of the season remaining after an impressive first half of the campaign.
Rowett has one of the most experienced squads in the Championship to call upon; but he doesn’t see that as anything other than positive.
First-team regulars Scott Carson, Chris Baird, Richard Keogh, Curtis Davies, Tom Huddlestone, Joe Ledley, Bradley Johnson and David Nugent are all in their 30s and have racked up a significant number of matches, while the Rams’ squad boasts several other experienced players.
Those aforementioned players are all characters and influential leaders in their own way within the Derby dressing room.
Each player and their own personalities are different, while with seniority generally comes experience on and off the pitch for a manager to lean on and embrace.
It’s those good characters that Rowett likes to tap in to, as he knows they can have a significant impact not just on themselves but also those around them within the squad.
He likes his players to have an opinion and speak up, not every manager does, but he feels that it can make for a healthy working relationship when it really matters.
The 43-year-old is of the belief that it’s important to empower his players and allow them to share their thoughts in their quest for success.
Rowett is only too aware that, as a manager, he can have an influence from his technical area, but those that can make the biggest impact are those out on the pitch.
He said: “I work on the proviso that if they’ve got the tools to do the job then a player with a good character and one that has performed over a period of time, you can get even more out of them if you can get them in a better environment than they’ve been in.
“They will make the best of what they can and also make the best of what other people are.
“That’s one big thing I have always found. Some managers don’t like big characters or ones that are outspoken because they can maybe see it as a threat. For me, I like that. I like players in there. If you can affect those players, then they can help do the same to everyone else and it can ultimately make your job a lot easier.
“If we lose a game or we’re losing at half-time, three or four of the players will already be speaking amongst themselves about some of the things that I’m going to mention.
“For me, surely that’s more powerful than me having to tell them everything all the time. When the whistle goes for a game, you hope that what you’ve done during the week will hopefully dictate the game for the 90 minutes.”
He added: “You can affect it in a way as a manager, but not massively. The players can more so because they are out on the pitch. You have to empower them to try and make some of those decisions or feel they can at least try to make them.
“I like players with a bit of experience and an opinion. I think there’s actually less of that these days; less natural leaders and outspoken people in the dressing room. I don’t want a bland team with no opinion on what they think that they need.”
Rowett successfully served as manager at Burton Albion and Birmingham City before taking over at Derby last March.
Those past experiences have taught him plenty of lessons, both good and bad, along the way.
One thing Rowett knows is vitally important as a manager is open and honest communication with his players.
Sometimes he’ll seek an opinion from his players - with the key aim to get the best out of them as a team and as individuals.
Having that line of communication is vitally important and an openness that works both ways.
He said: “I think there’s always a blend to management. I’ve read an awful lot about management and in general dealing with people. That is, effectively, what you’re doing as a manager.
“The game has changed and society has changed too. There has to be discipline and structure and, at times, make sure the players don’t feel they can just do what they want. At the same time, I don’t think screaming at players and the way that management was perceived in the past can be done any more.
“My opinion is that players don’t respond to that side of things as much as they do if you’re trying to help them and get the best out of them by speaking to them quite regularly. That’s the route I tend to go down, having a real openness.
“If you count myself and the staff as one, there’s one expert and around 20 odd players – so that means there’s a lot of opinions and different experiences. I think it’s important that the lads share those ideas and I’ll ask them, as a group or as individuals, about certain things at times - and on other occasions I won’t.
“I don’t think there’s just one way of doing it, but I am certainly more open-minded for five or six years of management than maybe I was at the very start.”
An obvious example of the open line of communication came after Derby went down 4-1 at Bristol City back in September.
The Rams’ form has picked up since that disappointing afternoon at Ashton Gate, although Rowett is reluctant to describe it as a watershed moment.
He said: “We had a really strong and open conversation with the players after the game at Ashton Gate and they spoke openly about some of the issues that they felt had been there historically.
“Maybe by getting it out there in the open helped us all. There was a real determination not to let that type of result happen again on a consistent basis.
“There isn’t one thing that happened at Bristol City or after that match which saw a magic wand waved to get us winning again. It’s just because things have been a lot better since that point.”
Rowett has nothing but praise for his squad and what they have achieved so far this season.
He has spoken on a number of occasions that plenty of outsiders had a negative opinion about the group he inherited when he took charge.
Rowett was keen to form his own take on his squad and he has labelled them as the ‘easiest group to deal with’ in his managerial career to date.
He said: “When we went away in pre-season there was a really good feeling to the group.
“I know the perception from the outside was that the group would be more problematic, but I have to say that the players have been a pleasure to work with.
“People talked to me about bad eggs in the dressing room and things such as player power. We always try to treat every group with respect and if players have a problem, with their family for example, I will always try and support them.
“We try to create an environment that is enjoyable to work in, even if you’re not playing, and be respected as a person.
“They have been phenomenal really and I can’t remember many times where they’ve not been open to certain things or given their all.
“They’ve probably been the easiest group to deal with in my managerial career to be fair.”
