The Secret Footballer: Players play badly on purpose to get a manager sacked all the time – here’s why

When a football manager is under pressure, he can’t always rely on his squad to give their all to turn it around. In fact, players may even purposefully not perform if they want the manager out.

 

It happens all the time and I've been part of a squad that has done just that. Most players have. It is always the result of actions by the manager that makes the players look foolish for a sustained period of time. Most commonly, it is down to flawed tactics that undermine the talent of the squad.

 

But it isn't always in order to ensure the manager is sacked. Sometimes, players just want to make a point to the manager.

 

However, in a case of mine once, it was to have the manager sacked because he wasn't inspiring as a leader. Although that may sound contrary, players don't want an easy life, which is what we had. We wanted to be pushed because when we didn't win football matches, it felt like sh*t.

 

Read more: Why Jose Mourinho ought to eat humble pie

 

Once it gets to that stage it’s almost impossible for a manager to recover. I'm trying to count the times in my career that I've witnessed a manager pull the dressing-room back around once he’s lost the dressing room. At the moment, I can't think of a single occasion where it's happened.

 

But it doesn't necessarily mean that particular manager is bad at his job. There are far more occasions where managers have left a club in circumstances that make him seem pathetic, only for him to walk into another job and enjoy success.

 

Besides, if you think there is a lot of ego on the pitch, you should see it in the boardroom.

 

I've been sitting in third or fourth position in the league only to see my manager sacked – you just can't rationalise the mindset of some owners. They only need to have a coming together with the manager over a non-issue and, suddenly, the manager is out.

 

Yet even if a popular boss is shown the door, you won’t see much outcry from players. In football, everyone is in it for himself. Or herself.

 

There isn't room for sentiment.

 

If the manager is sacked, well, he's walking out with some sort of pay-off. He'll get another job and I'm still here with my contract.

 

Of course, you go to see him and you text him to say good luck, but you only do that because you never know when you'll need him again.

 

It may be a team game, but it's also a finite career. And the most successful people – certainly in financial terms – are often the most selfish.