Shakey's interview with Oliver Kay

[Guest Kopfkino]

Craig Shakespeare interview: ‘I’m not too close to players – I will give them a rocket’

In his first big interview since he got the Leicester job, Craig Shakespeare tells Oliver Kay about his style of management and relationship with Claudio Ranieri.

 

 

‘The word that has been used,” Craig Shakespeare says, reflecting on Leicester City’s recent history, “is fairytale.” It is the word he uses too. He wonders aloud whether, after all the drama, some supporters might be ready to embrace normality once more, but, after the past few years, he says, “It’s hard to know what normal is.”

 

Vincent van Gogh is said to have described normality as “a paved road: it’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.” In terms of Premier League existence, it is the Stoke City or West Bromwich Albion of the past few seasons, consolidation upon consolidation. Leicester, by contrast, have experienced what Shakespeare calls a “rollercoaster”: play-off heartbreak, promotion, desperate struggle, survival against the odds, an implausible title, a spectacular post-title meltdown, a Champions League quarter-final and psychological intrigue aplenty.

 

A new phase beckons for Leicester, starting away to Arsenal in the Premier League’s opening fixture tomorrow evening. Nobody knows what to expect. They have invested in some expensive young talent — Harry Maguire, Vicente Iborra, Kelechi Iheanacho — which, Shakespeare says, will intensify competition for places. The untouchables of 2016 cannot afford to live on past glories. Further down the line, he knows that a challenge will be to know “when to break up a successful team”.

 

Leicester, after all, have already parted with a title-winning manager. The circumstances behind Claudio Ranieri’s dismissal in February, just nine months after that extraordinary title success, left a sour taste that, for some, continues to linger. Shakespeare, his assistant, was thrust into the hot seat on a temporary basis and immediately made clear that he felt he could be more than a stopgap. All the sympathy lay with Ranieri, who suggested that “someone behind me” might have twisted the knife. With a name like Shakespeare, as a distinguished Roman was toppled, The Times was not the only newspaper to ask: “Et tu, Craig?”

 

All of that is discussed in Shakespeare’s first newspaper interview since his appointment was made permanent in June. We start, though, by going back much further, to the pain of being rejected by Aston Villa as a 16-year-old, to “the best years of my playing career” at Walsall, including a 2-2 draw away to Liverpool in a League Cup semi-final first leg. He is not one to talk up a talent that earned him only a brief taste of top-flight football at Sheffield Wednesday. His main reflection on his playing career is that he “enjoyed every minute”, revelling in the dressing-room camaraderie, which he loves to this day.

He “never had any great plans to be a manager,” he says. Others, who have worked with and above him, back up that claim. On retiring as a player, he wanted to coach but could not get a job so he set up a one-man football academy in the Midlands, visiting schools, “because I wanted to stay involved but also because I needed to earn some money and there were no jobs in the football industry.” He did that for a year, along with bits of punditry for local radio to supplement his meagre post-playing income, and says it was “tough”. He applied for countless other jobs and got lucky when Coventry City appointed him as community football officer and then West Brom took him on, first in youth recruitment and eventually as a coach. From there, he says, “it gradually snowballed”.

 

Shakespeare was seen as one of football’s quiet grafters; mucking in, raising spirits, behind the scenes, never front of house. Nigel Pearson and Ranieri brought very different regimes at Leicester, but Shakespeare’s role, as assistant, did not change. He was the classic buffer between players and manager. “If a player has had a bad night’s sleep and it’s affecting him, I want to know that,” he says. “As an assistant, that’s part of your job. I want to keep those values and traits as a manager. If I can get to know the person, I can ask him to go the extra mile.”

 

The Leicester job came about precisely because the players who had repeatedly gone the extra mile and much, much more en route to title glory seemed to have stopped playing for Ranieri. “It was always hard to put things in perspective once we won the league,” Shakespeare says. “History tells you that if a team wins the league at 5,000-1, they’re going to find it pretty hard to repeat — and then people will be looking at it and saying, ‘Are you trying as hard?’ ”

Were they trying as hard, though? It appeared that the work ethic and unity that won the title gave way to complacency and selective effort as the noose around Ranieri’s neck tightened. “We went through a really hard time,” Shakespeare says. “That had a massive bearing on confidence. As players they were disappointed with their performances and results. They were hurting. And when you talk to them on a human level and show them a bit of warmth, I could understand that. But at the same time, as a coaching staff, we wanted more from them. It can be human nature sometimes to rest on your laurels a bit, but, from that high, and then not getting the results, it drained the players.”

 

When Shakespeare took over from Ranieri in February, Leicester were in severe danger of becoming the first champions to be relegated since Manchester City in 1938. “We were in a situation where we could get dragged down there and all of a sudden it becomes hard to get out,” he says. “If we had lost that first game [against Liverpool], I don’t know whether we would have recovered. Thankfully we won and then the momentum started to roll a bit.”

 

It did, as Leicester rolled to Premier League safety and to a Champions League quarter-final. Just as the players were accused of raising their efforts after Ranieri’s departure, some observers felt that Shakespeare was too overt in stating his interest in the job rather than shedding tears for the Italian. “That press conference when he left was one of the hardest experiences I’ve ever had,” he says. “At the same time, what did I say? I said, ‘Do I think I can do the job? Yes. Am I apprehensive about it? No.’ And that was trying to be . . . not bullish at all, but just ‘This is how it is.’ How people could perceive it any other way is beyond me. I always say to my kids, ‘As long as you can put your head on the pillow and sleep well at night with your actions, fine.”

 

Did the “back-stabbing” suggestions hurt? “No, because I knew the real situation and the truth behind my relationship with Claudio,” he says. Has he spoken to Ranieri, now at Nantes, since getting the job on a permanent basis? “No, but I could pick up the phone to him tomorrow and ask him his advice — and he could pick up the phone to me and say how it is,” he says. “That’s how the football world works. Sometimes you don’t speak to people for months, then you do and it’s, ‘How are you?’ and nothing has changed. Claudio will always be welcome here after what he achieved.”

 

Undoubtedly, Shakespeare changed the dressing-room dynamic upon taking over. Results showed that the arm-around-the-shoulder approach — allied to some well thought out tactics, perhaps best illustrated in the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Atletico Madrid — went a long way. The question now is whether another change of approach is needed. Football, after all, has seen many instances of caretaker managers finding the going far tougher upon being promoted permanently.

 

“We’re all aware of that,” the 53-year-old says. “I’ll review it as I go along. I’ve said the way I managed from February to May is the way I’ll manage. Situations along the way might cause a reflection on that. It went quite well, but I know if it doesn’t go well, I might need to change it.

 

“I know I’ll get criticised this season if we lose — ‘He’s too close to his players’ and all that — but people don’t know what happens on the inside. I might have distanced myself from them because that’s what I think is the best thing to do. I’ll do what I think is right — to get results, to get the best out of the players, to take the club forward. If that means being stricter, being firmer, that’s what I’ll do. Individuals have needs. If someone needs an arm around the shoulder, I’ll give them that. If someone needs to work harder, they’ll get a rocket.”

 

He has already had to confront one difficult situation with Riyad Mahrez, who, having gone public with his desire to leave, has attracted bids from Roma. “It would have been lovely if Riyad had come to us instead and said, ‘These are my thoughts’, but ultimately, until or unless we get a bid that the club finds acceptable, he’s our player,” Shakespeare says. “He’s got three years left on his contract. For me, it’s a case of, ‘Same as normal, Riyad. Same as normal.’ ”

The one aspect of the job that Shakespeare admits to finding uncomfortable is the glare — and the frequency — of the media spotlight. “We were involved in the Champions League when I took over and in a very short time I went from low profile to high profile,” he says. “That was the thing I found most difficult. I had always been a guy who was behind the scenes, low profile, and liked it that way. The media — the intensity of it, the amount of time it takes up — really took me by surprise. I’ll do what I have to do, media-wise, but I also like the idea of getting on with my job and letting the big managers be to the fore. I don’t want to go down the road of, ‘Bloody hell, it’s him on the telly again.’ ”

 

One to one, Shakespeare is far more engaging, far warmer, far closer to the “great guy” others describe, than he came across in those set-piece press conferences last season. He admits to holding back, though. “If we were having a pint, it would be a different conversation — about football, about life, about our kids,” he says. “But we’re having a conversation about my job, about how I conduct myself, so there has to be an air of professionalism there. I think that’s normal.”

 

Does normal exist, though, in the crazy world Leicester City have come to inhabit? A sense of stability is needed — and Shakespeare hopes to provide that — but normality, as described by Van Gogh, they will try to resist as the rollercoaster starts up once more.

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/sport/craig-shakespeare-interview-im-not-too-close-to-players-i-will-give-them-a-rocket-lwlbhlq7k

[HankMarvin]

lets hope the players don't turn on Craig if they go through a bad patch.

The 1-6 home drubbing performance was like the effort that was shown under CR.

[UpTheLeagueFox]

He comes across well in that interview. Not a great surprise because he is decent bloke, always a pleasure to deal with.

[fox_favourite]

In the Pearson days, he did a few bits of media pre match and always came across very well. Kind of Pearson style, but with a warmer tone. I quite like it. I'm hoping he's a success and just brings a bit of stability to our club. 

[Bert]

5 hours ago, HankMarvin said:

lets hope the players don't turn on Craig if they go through a bad patch.

The 1-6 home drubbing performance was like the effort that was shown under CR.

I think Spurs were absolutely at their best that night and also feel like they had a bit of a score to settle. Poor performance from us indeed but we were absolutely battered. 

[AKCJ]

35 minutes ago, Bert said:

I think Spurs were absolutely at their best that night and also feel like they had a bit of a score to settle. Poor performance from us indeed but we were absolutely battered. 

We also had a lot of injuries and those playing were completely shattered.

[GaelicFox]

it's a great interview not sure still if it show a man who thinks he is a master of his destiny or one that portrays a man that knows it's a ticking clock 

 

loyalty is something that's missing and I believe life is always harder when loyalty is absent from your make up , he is a very clever man , very clever and is obviously ruthless 

 

His ruthlessness will either make or break him this season , after that interview I'm a little more confident that he is going to do ok this year , the degree of insight is quite impressive 

 

He is no John Carver , much to clever and calculating to be in that mould 

 

[Guest Col city fan]

Shakey is pretty much exactly the kind of bloke I thought he was.

I reckon I'd like him if I met him.

Good luck to the fella.

[Guest Papasmurf]

Vicente Iborra is a young talent.

[Guest seanfox778]

11 minutes ago, Papasmurf said:

Vicente Iborra is a young talent.

He's young at heart.

[Dan]

10 hours ago, pmcla26 said:

I think looking back in hindsight now you can take things from the game that will help us learn, we had nothing to play for at that point and if we had won we would be thinking we are going to win the league or something stupid. However, we realised the defense and midfield needed an improvement and that going gung-ho against top sides can often back fire (Ranieri did the same vs Arsenal at home in 15/16 and we learnt from that game) 

 

Also, we were only 3-1 down until 15/20 minutes left? We didn't show that poor commitment until the last 5 minutes when we conceded a few, and we had nothing to play for and players were playing in unfamiliar roles, in advanced positions or weren't players you'd consider starters or pushing to start. I think it's good we got smashed when it meant nothing rather than hopefully making same mistakes this year.

I agree with this entirely. Third goal killed us and it was then we fell apart. I still think even despite the result, the games against Chelsea x2, Man Utd x2, Liverpool away, Southampton away and arguably even some others were all worse. We actually looked like having a decent chance of coming out of that game with something with 20 left.

 

I think we'd wound Spurs up a bit and they went for the kill in the end. Kane and Son were just unbelievable. Too attacking, with a depleted defence, against the form side of the league who wanted to get one over us. I can see why it happened.

 

The other games I mentioned didn't show a single sign of hope. You couldn't say that for the Spurs game.

 

I agree as well that it made us realise we needed signings. Realisation that Benalouane, Amartey etc... are weak links.

[cc_star]

41 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

I agree with this entirely. Third goal killed us and it was then we fell apart. I still think even despite the result, the games against Chelsea x2, Man Utd x2, Liverpool away, Southampton away and arguably even some others were all worse. We actually looked like having a decent chance of coming out of that game with something with 20 left.

 

I think we'd wound Spurs up a bit and they went for the kill in the end. Kane and Son were just unbelievable. Too attacking, with a depleted defence, against the form side of the league who wanted to get one over us. I can see why it happened.

 

The other games I mentioned didn't show a single sign of hope. You couldn't say that for the Spurs game.

 

I agree as well that it made us realise we needed signings. Realisation that Benalouane, Amartey etc... are weak links.

The Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea & Southampton away were disgusting performances. Absolutely disgusting

 

Many thought we'd just gone back to our level after the title win & we should stop moaning & be happy, but those performances were something far worse

 

Thankfully Shakey snapped us out of it, long may he continue!

[Wdywd]

The 6-1 was absolutely dismal and there's no point trying to dress it up as anything else

 

They could've had 10 on another night.

 

Decent interview there though. And tbf, when you look at how some of the other transfer sagas this summer have gone with Sigurdsson/Van Dijk, he has managed this Mahrez one pretty well.

[Dan]

1 hour ago, cc_star said:

The Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea & Southampton away were disgusting performances. Absolutely disgusting

 

Many thought we'd just gone back to our level after the title win & we should stop moaning & be happy, but those performances were something far worse

 

Thankfully Shakey snapped us out of it, long may he continue!

I wouldn't have stood for those performances if we were Hull, a newly promoted side with a shambolic summer. They were nothing short of disgraceful.

[Arriba Los Zorros]

8 hours ago, GaelicFox said:

it's a great interview not sure still if it show a man who thinks he is a master of his destiny or one that portrays a man that knows it's a ticking clock 

 

loyalty is something that's missing and I believe life is always harder when loyalty is absent from your make up , he is a very clever man , very clever and is obviously ruthless 

 

His ruthlessness will either make or break him this season , after that interview I'm a little more confident that he is going to do ok this year , the degree of insight is quite impressive 

 

He is no John Carver , much to clever and calculating to be in that mould 

 

You're basically calling the man led us to the PL and then won it as an assistant and then who saved us from relegation a snake in as many words! 

 

How you can say he is ruthless and not loyal is beyond me. No better than trolls on Facebook and twitter, I wouldn't expect it from our own fans.

 

 

[GaelicFox]

1 hour ago, Arriba Los Zorros said:

You're basically calling the man led us to the PL and then won it as an assistant and then who saved us from relegation a snake in as many words! 

 

How you can say he is ruthless and not loyal is beyond me. No better than trolls on Facebook and twitter, I wouldn't expect it from our own fans.

 

 

I think the facts as we know them stand up to my opinion 

 

I have no issues with ruthlessness the loyalty issue I may be wrong on ... but actually too much loyalty is not good for a manager either 

 

its only my opinion and one that may well change once we know the full reasons he abandoned Nigel to remain at Leicester and why he was clearly fingered (by the press) for being the Man knifing Claudio ...  

 

this interview sort of confirms my thoughts on him , do I think negatively of him ? NO , do I now trust he is the right man YES , that interview has a depth of character that I wasn't sure he had ... he can be a great manager but it all depends on how he manages his ruthlessness  and loyalty  

 

 

[HighPeakFox]

Whatever the truth is, he needs to be ruthless.

[GaelicFox]

4 hours ago, cc_star said:

The Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea & Southampton away were disgusting performances. Absolutely disgusting

 

Many thought we'd just gone back to our level after the title win & we should stop moaning & be happy, but those performances were something far worse

 

Thankfully Shakey snapped us out of it, long may he continue!

He Initially snapped us out of it ... the end of the season leave a few question marks 

 

If we get hammered tomorrow and all those question marks and issue could return swiftly 

 

tomorrow is massive if we we win draw or lose and fight like men that will be a huge positive for the season 

 

if we are hammered and capitulate like wimps it will open wounds that may only be healed temporarily

 

its a huge huge game ....  

 

 

 

[Stadt]

Even now the tone in articles is that Ranieri was blameless and only witnessed a horrible season rather than played more than a significant part in it.

[cc_star]

5 minutes ago, Wookie said:

Even now the tone in articles is that Ranieri was blameless and only witnessed a horrible season rather than played more than a significant part in it.

Shocking really

[KingsX]

6 minutes ago, Wookie said:

Even now the tone in articles is that Ranieri was blameless and only witnessed a horrible season rather than played more than a significant part in it.

Shakey is hardly in a position to criticize Claudio or open the 2016-2017 can of worms in public.  It would only restart that almighty distraction.  It's a lose-lose game for him, and he is right to stay off the subject as much as the media (or his media skills) allow.

 

He knows as much as anyone alive what really went down, and over time we'll find out more.  Not while he is manager here though.

[HighPeakFox]

11 minutes ago, Wookie said:

Even now the tone in articles is that Ranieri was blameless and only witnessed a horrible season rather than played more than a significant part in it.

It's called false syllogism - basing a whole line of argument based on an untrue assumption.

[Stadt]

3 minutes ago, KingsX said:

Shakey is hardly in a position to criticize Claudio or open the 2016-2017 can of worms in public.  It would only restart that almighty distraction.  It's a lose-lose game for him, and he is right to stay off the subject as much as the media (or his media skills) allow.

 

He knows as much as anyone alive what really went down, and over time we'll find out more.  Not while he is manager here though.

I mean from journalists, you're right in saying Shakey's wise to avoid commenting on it.

[Dan]

23 minutes ago, Wookie said:

Even now the tone in articles is that Ranieri was blameless and only witnessed a horrible season rather than played more than a significant part in it.

Always will be the case. It's quite a good way in my eyes of filtering who knows what they're on about and who doesn't, because we know the truth.

 

Saw an old video earlier that was utterly hilarious. I'd have loved to have been in that room.

 

 

[Stadt]

5 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

Always will be the case. It's quite a good way in my eyes of filtering who knows what they're on about and who doesn't, because we know the truth.

 

Saw an old video earlier that was utterly hilarious. I'd have loved to have been in that room.

 

 

Even now I can't watch anything like that, it grates too much. The very same people praising us for smashing the glass ceiling were telling us to expect to go back and never have any ambition ever again.