mu
Nov 11 2005, 12:42 PM
Rene Meulensteen has made an unbeaten start to his career as United’s Reserve team manager, continuing the good work of his predecessor Ricky Sbragia.
The Reds’ second string top the Premier Reserve League northern section and are producing a similar brand of football that saw them claim four trophies last season.
But, in an interview with ManUtd.com, the Dutchman expressed his belief that results are not his sole focus…
What matters most as a Reserve team manager, performances or results?
I think any manager would be happy to be top of the league. But the most important thing for me is not being top of the league, it's the development of the performances and development of the players. You can't always have the perfect performance, you might have the odd off-day - it doesn't matter. If you keep striving and focus on the performances then the outcome will be mostly positive. Then as a logical result you will get the place you deserve. If that's top of the league then great, you've deserved it. I always try to keep the players' minds focused on the performance, not on the outcome.
What benefits does that attitude have for the players?
When there are two teams competing, you're going to run into situations where you have to overcome disappointment. If you cannot cope with minor disappointments then how can you cope with bigger ones? A minor disappointment is, for instance, missing a shot on goal. What do you do? Are you burying your head in your hands or do you accept it, quickly think about what you could have done better and then focus on the next ball?
"Any manager would be happy to be top of the league. But the most important thing for me is the development of the players."
Rene Meulensteen
So, it’s about players being positive all the time...
Yes, that's always the most important thing. If you shape your attitude to cope with the situations I mentioned before then you can overcome bigger disappointments like a goal against or losing. Sometimes you don't win when you should have done, you have to cope with that before going into the next game. It's a way of developing your mindset really and I'm a firm believer that you don't just train your physical attributes, you're training the mental attributes too.
A number of the regular Reserve players have been called up for the first team this season. How much of an impact does that have on them?
It's a great experience for any young player to travel with the first team. They should suck every part of the experience up, whatever they can get. It's always good to step into a team where everything is hunky dory, but it's sometimes not a bad thing to be there when the going gets tough and to get those experiences.
How important is it that the young players remain grounded?
You want to get in there for all the right reasons. That means you want to get there because you want to be a player. If they do get starry-eyed then it won't last long. There's plenty of examples in football of players who wanted it for all the wrong reasons. They see the glamour, the status and the attention and if you do it for those reasons then you've got no chance in the long run. But all of them are good lads, they've got their feet firmly on the ground.
Does it make your job more difficult when you’ve got players coming and going?
The last thing you'll ever hear me moaning about is players missing for one reason or another. Yes, everybody wants to turn out with the best possible squad available. But if I can't pick a certain player - for whatever reason - I don't dwell on it. I think 'hey, there's an opportunity for somebody else, I can have a look at another player'. Give him a go and he might surprise you.
Rene Meulensteen has made an unbeaten start to his career as United’s Reserve team manager, continuing the good work of his predecessor Ricky Sbragia.
The Reds’ second string top the Premier Reserve League northern section and are producing a similar brand of football that saw them claim four trophies last season.
But, in an interview with ManUtd.com, the Dutchman expressed his belief that results are not his sole focus…
What matters most as a Reserve team manager, performances or results?
I think any manager would be happy to be top of the league. But the most important thing for me is not being top of the league, it's the development of the performances and development of the players. You can't always have the perfect performance, you might have the odd off-day - it doesn't matter. If you keep striving and focus on the performances then the outcome will be mostly positive. Then as a logical result you will get the place you deserve. If that's top of the league then great, you've deserved it. I always try to keep the players' minds focused on the performance, not on the outcome.
What benefits does that attitude have for the players?
When there are two teams competing, you're going to run into situations where you have to overcome disappointment. If you cannot cope with minor disappointments then how can you cope with bigger ones? A minor disappointment is, for instance, missing a shot on goal. What do you do? Are you burying your head in your hands or do you accept it, quickly think about what you could have done better and then focus on the next ball?
"Any manager would be happy to be top of the league. But the most important thing for me is the development of the players."
Rene Meulensteen
So, it’s about players being positive all the time...
Yes, that's always the most important thing. If you shape your attitude to cope with the situations I mentioned before then you can overcome bigger disappointments like a goal against or losing. Sometimes you don't win when you should have done, you have to cope with that before going into the next game. It's a way of developing your mindset really and I'm a firm believer that you don't just train your physical attributes, you're training the mental attributes too.
A number of the regular Reserve players have been called up for the first team this season. How much of an impact does that have on them?
It's a great experience for any young player to travel with the first team. They should suck every part of the experience up, whatever they can get. It's always good to step into a team where everything is hunky dory, but it's sometimes not a bad thing to be there when the going gets tough and to get those experiences.
How important is it that the young players remain grounded?
You want to get in there for all the right reasons. That means you want to get there because you want to be a player. If they do get starry-eyed then it won't last long. There's plenty of examples in football of players who wanted it for all the wrong reasons. They see the glamour, the status and the attention and if you do it for those reasons then you've got no chance in the long run. But all of them are good lads, they've got their feet firmly on the ground.
Does it make your job more difficult when you’ve got players coming and going?
The last thing you'll ever hear me moaning about is players missing for one reason or another. Yes, everybody wants to turn out with the best possible squad available. But if I can't pick a certain player - for whatever reason - I don't dwell on it. I think 'hey, there's an opportunity for somebody else, I can have a look at another player'. Give him a go and he might surprise you.