Blues boss Paul Jewell says he’s surrounded by expert football managers at Portman Road — at least those of the computer gaming variety anyway. The Town manager says he might even join them as he looks to arrest the Blues’ disappointing early season form.
Jewell said: "Every manager says how quiet players are compared with how they used to be. Maybe that’s just a reflection of society because you can’t really talk or shout when you’ve got your headphones on because you can’t hear anything.
"They’ve all got these devices that they play on on the bus. They’re all expert football managers. I might have a go at that myself, I could get a run of results!” he joked.
The Town manager says that despite the quietness cited by both himself and predecessor Roy Keane his squad go about things the right way: "We’ve got a good bunch of players here. They come in and they train properly every day.
"When [the media] go on about Tamás’s quotes, that sort of thing doesn’t disappoint me too much because I can see that things can be taken out of context.
"Any player, whoever it is, whether it’s Michael Chopra, whether it’s Jimmy Bullard, whether it’s Joe Whight, if they express a desire to leave, they can, as long as it’s right for us and someone is out there to buy them.
"I want people here who want to be here and if they’re not in the first team want to try every day to impress me to get into it.”
It’s not just players who are quiet these days but other bosses as well, Jewell has been told by some of his squad: "I’ve spoken to a lot of the players and they’ve told me that some managers don’t say anything at half-time. I don’t think Arsene Wenger does.”
The Liverpudlian says a football manager’s job is somewhat more complex in the real world than it is in the virtual one, particularly with regard to dealing with players and perhaps more so when there are confidence issues as there are at present: "Someone said to me that as a manager you’ve got to be a friend to the players, a foe, a father figure, a money lender and a psychologist. The only thing you haven’t got to be is a gynaecologist.
"I think you’ve got to be all sorts to all men and what’s right for one person isn’t right for the other guy.
"But don’t get me wrong, we haven’t got a dressing room full of people banging their heads against the wall — that’s my office!”