Sheffield Wednesday's Chris Powell talks Owls, the Hillsborough crossbar, Ted Lasso and much more in this exclusive interview with The Star
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00:00 You know what, it's been brilliant actually. I haven't been here long. I was so looking forward to the first home game more than anything.
00:12 I've been here numerous times as a player, as a opposing manager, which some fans will talk about me being on a crossbar.
00:22 I wasn't going to ask you about that.
00:23 No, I knew you would. Sunday didn't let me down. I think the welcome I've had from people I've met on the train, on the tram, in the streets, it's been really good.
00:38 Even the other side have said to me, 'Welcome anyway', which I found great. I'm just trying to embrace Yorkshire life again. I've worked in Yorkshire before.
00:52 It's really great for me to come in and help such a great club with amazing support to try and get ourselves in a better position.
01:07 I can't say any more than that other than we're going to strive to get ourselves in a better place.
01:14 With yourself, you obviously spoke, Danny said that you'd met in the international scene. So, a slightly different scenario when you're meeting on the international level?
01:25 Yes, ever so slightly. Obviously, myself and Danny have been very fortunate to work at the top level, really.
01:35 We were on a senior team of England and Germany and we had some interesting games against them.
01:43 We spoke briefly, obviously, he'd worked at Southampton before so he knew a bit of the British culture.
01:51 Once it looked as if he was going to come here, we spoke a few times on the phone and then we met for three or four hours and had a really good chat.
02:04 He left it with me to decide. I came in a few days before I officially signed just to get a feel of the place.
02:14 Obviously, I've got to learn how Danny works and Henrik and Sasha. It's been great.
02:23 They're very organised, different characters, all three of them, which actually helps.
02:30 Then myself and now Tomo has come with us and Nicky Weaver, who I played with many years ago at Charlton.
02:38 It's a good synergy. We want the best for the boys. We want to get them in a place where they can really show the best version of themselves as an individual, as a team more importantly.
02:54 It's taken a lot on. There's been a lot of meetings, which is fine. You have to understand what the manager and what the coaching team staff want.
03:06 We're going to improve them as much as we can. I think the mentality is good. I think he'll get stronger over time.
03:16 It's just about understanding what Danny wants, what he wants from me, what he wants from each individual to make us more cohesive, to make us a strong unit.
03:28 We're under no illusions. We know where we are. We don't have to say it. We know where we are.
03:34 We've just got to chip away at it. A little indent at the weekend, just a little start.
03:41 Now we've just got to go from there and not worry too much about what's going on elsewhere.
03:47 We've got a lot of games, a lot of points that we've got to fight for.
03:52 It was already a challenge when you got here. It's not like you had the pre-season to deal with that.
03:58 As a player who's spent so long playing, do those kind of challenges, do you look at that and go, "This is something I want to get my teeth into"?
04:05 Yes, absolutely. I think once I spoke to Dan and spoke to a lot of friends and people in the game, saying, "It's a bit of a challenge. It's hard having won a game."
04:18 I said, "Why don't we try and change that? Why don't I join the challenge in trying to get us the points and wins that we need?"
04:30 We do have a bit of time on our side. The pre-season does help, but actually, you know what?
04:36 I think we've looked at it and said, "There will be moments where we can work, we can get ideas and real points across."
04:48 I think the players want that. Like you said, I've been a player and you like direction.
04:55 You like to see that things are being put in place to help you.
05:00 We're slowly doing that. We're not rushing everything, but what we're trying is to implement a style of play with the ball, a style of play without the ball.
05:13 Set play is the key, both boxes are key. Some teams live for those.
05:20 I feel like we did on Sunday against Rotherham, a real strong set-piece team. We dealt with everything that came our way.
05:30 That's the start and it breeds confidence in not only the players, but in the management and more importantly, the fans.
05:38 They want to see a team that knows what they're doing and they're organised. That's what we've been trying to do since the day we came in.
05:46 You've done a few different jobs in football. You've been an assistant, you've been a manager. Is there something that you prefer?
05:53 Some managers always go, "I want to be a manager." Is there an element of some like to coach, some like to be only involved in the football side of things?
06:02 Have you got a preference on what you actually prefer?
06:04 It's a great question because a lot of people say that to me. I suppose I had an itch to scratch at the end of my career that I wanted to manage.
06:15 People talk about black managers and what have you. I suppose I wanted to do it. I was encouraged by Nigel Pearson, who was my last manager.
06:27 Alan Pardew, Alan Kirbyshley said, "You could coach, you could manage." So, I wanted to do it.
06:35 At Charlton, I was successful in the main, won League One and stayed in the Championship.
06:42 But then things always… It's football. Things go awry, people have different ideas, they want different people in charge. That's the game.
06:52 I suppose you're angry at the start, but as you get older and wiser, you kind of go a bit immune to it. It happens. It's almost like death and taxes, I suppose, that it's going to happen.
07:05 So, I think what you've got to do is be remembered, leave a bit of a legacy if you can.
07:11 I managed at Charlton, Huddersfield, South End. You learn from a lot of those things, whether they were good, bad or indifferent.
07:24 But then, I'm a football man. I've been assistant twice, at Derby, over in Holland. I was in the Academy, I suppose, the last three years.
07:37 I like football. I love football. I like to develop people, whether they're coaches, whether they're players, whether they're young players.
07:44 I like people to improve. I like to lend my experience. Can I create a good environment, a good learning environment?
07:52 I like to look out for people, staff and players. And I love the game.
07:59 So, I understand some people are built to just be a manager. I don't think I'm going to manage anymore.
08:06 Highly unlikely. I suppose you never say never. But I suppose now I don't really enjoy that side of things.
08:14 What I'd like to do, especially with someone like Danny coming over, and that was one of the draws.
08:20 He wanted someone who knew the Championship and managed there and knows the British game to help him.
08:29 Coaching skills are transferable, regardless of what country you're in.
08:34 I've seen that straight away with Danny, with Henrik, with Sascha.
08:38 But quite clearly, sometimes you need an understanding of your position, of traditions, of what the do's and don'ts,
08:46 maybe what the players would like, maybe what they might not like, what would work, and make it a more tighter ship.
08:55 And I think we're getting that. So, I'm happy being in the game, whether I'm watching, coaching, managing, advising.
09:07 The game is for me. I'm quite happy in the role I'm doing right now.
09:13 In this job specifically, obviously Danny never played at his career club, in fact he's only a year older than me.
09:20 But are you almost like a conduit in this set-up? Because you played at the top level, and you've got a lot of players here who have played
09:29 either in the Premier League or Championship or whatever. Are you almost like a conduit between the manager and the players?
09:35 There's a bit of that. Yeah, there's definitely a bit of that. Obviously, because I've worked the last three years with England,
09:44 that obviously helps me get a buy-in, really, from other players. I think having Tomo with us, he knows the club, he knows how it works,
09:55 he knows a lot of the boys, that helps again. But then also, you look at Danny's experiences, they're really good.
10:04 Bayern Munich, Germany, Southampton. You've worked with some decent players between your hands.
10:10 Yeah, not bad. Harry Kane's not too bad. Jude Bellingham, he's alright. So, yeah, those guys are exceptional.
10:22 But you want these guys here at Sheffield Wednesday to aspire, especially the young ones. You want them to aspire to as high as they can get to.
10:32 Equally, the experienced players leave a legacy, because your career goes by in a flash, it really does.
10:42 I played for 24 years until I was 40, but it kind of just passed me by, thinking back now. I just want these guys to enjoy their careers,
10:55 enjoy what's in front of them, because you feel like you can play forever, but you don't. So, actually, what's important is that you understand that
11:06 the time is now. At Sheffield Wednesday, I spoke to the players after Plymouth, and I just said to them,
11:15 "Actually, if you think about it, we have a chance to show people that actually, where we are now, we can move forward.
11:26 And wouldn't it be great if you look back in a few years' time, that you achieved something when everyone thought you'd written off?"
11:35 It's going to be hard. We're going to get punches in the stomach along the rest of this season. We really will.
11:43 And we might not get out of where we are. That's a fact. But actually, go out fighting, go out showing people you care.
11:53 And I see that in this group, I sense it in this group, that they can do that. Will we need a bit of luck along the way? Absolutely.
12:03 Will we need things to go our way at times? Yeah. Will things go against us? Yeah. But I think actually,
12:17 what made me actually turn was the fans after Plymouth and during the second half. I was sitting there thinking,
12:25 "We're just singing the heads off and we're losing 3-0." So actually, the belief is, this is our club, we're a Pro Elect club,
12:32 it doesn't matter what happens. So actually, why don't we use that to our advantage? Why don't we use the energy from the fans
12:40 and give them the energy from the field and sometimes off it? And I think that can be a driving force for us going forward.
12:49 It really can. It won't be easy. There's some really good teams in this league that have spent good money, got squads that are almost built for the Premier League.
12:58 We know where we're at. We understand it. But we're going to get on with it. Simple. That's a fact. And we'll be ready each and every game.
13:06 You mentioned the fans there. Obviously, your first home game on Sunday against Rotherham.
13:11 We were glancing down at you when I saw Lallan was going, "You look like you're enjoying that!"
13:17 I've got a thing about that song. A friend of mine at Spurs, Callum, a big Shuffle Wednesday fan, I sent it to him during the playoffs last season.
13:31 And then where I live, I don't live far from Aston Villa, they sing it. But it's Shuffle Wednesday, so let's put it right.
13:39 And I know the team sing at Wolves and what have you. But the noise on Sunday, I said to the staff, I said to Sascha, "Just listen to this."
13:49 It took me aback. It was so loud. And I just thought, "You know what? That should get us going."
13:56 I think the players enjoy it. And there was just a nice feeling about the place on Sunday.
14:03 And I think we need to carry that on. It won't be easy. We've got some tough games coming up at home and away.
14:12 But we know it's the league we've got the right to be in. So let's do our best to earn the right to stay in it.
14:19 You mentioned that you had experience with Nigel Pearson. I'm sure there are a few former Wednesday players that you've known over the years.
14:27 Did you get in touch with any of them before you came through and asked a few questions?
14:31 Yeah, I spoke to Nigel. He still lives in the area. He gave me a real good insight into the area, into the people.
14:44 He said I can stop there if I want every now and then. But no, I've kind of known about Sheffield and how proud the city is.
14:59 I got a good insight into the place. But the people I know that played here, played here many years ago.
15:09 So I was thinking that might not help me. But I did a bit of homework and I'm glad that I've made the decision.
15:18 Going back to that crossfire incident, when you were alive did you think, "Oh, I'm going to get a bit of stick for that"?
15:26 I knew straight away. Obviously, I know the fans don't want to hear it, but we stopped Sheffield derby in the quarter-final.
15:36 We played Sheffield United next round and lost, which wasn't great. But we kind of knew that everyone wanted the Sheffield derby.
15:49 I get it. We played on a Saturday, beat QPR, Charlton, then travelled here on a Sunday. It was a Monday night.
15:58 A lot of the Charlton fans got stopped on the motorway and missed quite a lot of the game.
16:04 They got in at the end and I suppose I got carried away.
16:10 Whoever took that picture, I've got to say, great. I didn't stay up there long. It looks like I'm up there doing pull-ups and whatever.
16:21 But I was up there briefly. I lost the moment, I suppose. There's nothing wrong with that.
16:27 If your team's won, you've got to enjoy the moment. Like we did last Sunday, let's hope we've got many more to come.
16:35 You've seen Hillsborough in full flow. Knowing that history of the club, you know when Danny makes that call and says,
16:43 'Look, I might be going to Sheffield United, do you want to come join me?' Does that play a big part in your decision?
16:48 Yeah, regardless of the position we're in, I think you always look at the stature of a football club and what it means to the people.
17:01 You know the support's going to be there. It's even taken me aback a little bit.
17:09 Seeing 29,000, I know it's a local derby so maybe there's a few more away fans, but I didn't see too many blue suits spare.
17:20 I'm thinking, 'Well, imagine you just get it just right. Just imagine.' I know the fans must always think that.
17:28 But we've got to think that. We can't think any other way other than positive and being the best version of Sheffield Wednesday that we can be.
17:39 That's what we have to strive for. I can't see why anyone else would think any differently.
17:45 Do we have setbacks? Yeah. Do we have challenges? Absolutely. I've seen that in the days I've been here.
17:51 But we can't let go of the fact of who we are and what we are and who we represent. We can't forget that.
18:00 I think that's a big driver. It is for me. It's my job and the staff's job to have that rub off onto the players.
18:10 That when we play at any given time, they wear the shirt that they give their all. I think that's all the fans ever want.
18:19 I've seen teams lose and lose and you can see their body language not right.
18:25 Well, we've got to be positive in everything we do and so far, so good.
18:30 You work with the sort of players you've worked with. Obviously, you've been part of one of the most successful England generations.
18:36 I know we're still getting on that way in the port. Yeah, no comment.
18:40 There's been a lot of tournament success in terms of progression. You've worked with some of the best English players that we've seen in decades.
18:48 What do you take from them? You have Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. When you transfer from that to Chelsea after Wednesday,
18:56 what sort of lessons do you take from working with those kind of players?
18:59 It's a good question because it's quite hard to have them alongside each other because quite obviously, they are the cream.
19:10 Jude Bellingham goes from Madrid as if he's just gone to his local Sunday team.
19:15 I mean, it's uncanny what he's doing but it doesn't surprise me and a lot of people that work with him
19:22 because we just know his understanding of the game. He's very well balanced.
19:27 He's been brought up brilliantly both personally in our family and at Birmingham and Dortmund.
19:35 I suppose all you can ever say to our guys is, "Why don't you strive to be like that? Be as good as you can be."
19:45 Behaviours on and off the field are massive. The way you treat people is massive.
19:52 The way you play and interact with your teammates, with the staff is huge.
19:59 Why don't you develop a learning because actually, we've got some good young players here.
20:06 Why don't you strive to be in the higher leagues? Why not?
20:10 Because if you don't set the bar high, you'll never reach it.
20:16 You don't have to be outspoken about it but I think it's about behaviours and it's about what they do day in and day out.
20:30 It's the big thing that really sets the tone and raises the bar.
20:36 These guys are at the top level every day in everything they do.
20:42 Whether it's the gym, whether it's training, whether it's being around the place, it's a high level every single day.
20:53 They don't come off it. That's why they're at the level they're at.
20:57 You want our players to have that psyche. Be the best you can be in everything you do.
21:09 If it's set plays, if it's marking someone, if it's delivering that ball, if it's goalkeeping, taking the catch, playing out, building,
21:19 whatever it is, be the best that you can possibly do it at because it'll only improve you and the team you're in.
21:26 You can't do it on your own. Those top level players, they're top level, they can't do it on their own.
21:33 They have to have not only the other ten but they've got to have the guys on the bench, the staff in the gym, the lads who haven't even made the squad.
21:42 You've got to keep each other going, you've got to keep a real balance in what you're doing at the highest level you can be.
21:50 I think we've got players that can do that but it's going to be hard.
21:56 It's our job to make them better each and every day.
22:02 In that element, it's about control and the control, isn't it? You're going to have bad games, you're going to have days when it doesn't quite fall for you.
22:11 If you're doing all those things that you can't control right, then you obviously stand a better chance.
22:16 Speaking to Danny, he's mentioned a few times about his non-negotiables, the things that he says, 'This is how we work, we answer what's happening'.
22:27 Can you give us an idea of the things that Danny's come in and said, 'This is the way that I work and there's no shuffling aside'?
22:37 He wasn't happy today with training, he made that quite clear to the boys.
22:41 I think they know now that the intensity that he wants is something they're going to have to get used to.
22:49 You can see it coming in, you can. You've seen the workload, the Watford game, Plymouth game, Rotherham.
22:57 You see already it's increasing. They understand, they don't do it, they might not play.
23:03 He's been very clear, 'We've got to do the work and if this is what I demand, it's what you've got to do'.
23:10 We've got to drive it and support coaches and staff to keep driving the boys.
23:17 It will be tough for them, I've seen a few tongues hanging out already, but they'll benefit from it.
23:25 That's the big thing. If their mentality changes and their body language says, 'We/I can do this',
23:33 then all of a sudden that's going to benefit the team.
23:36 We've already said to them, 'This is what we're looking for, this is what you need to do'.
23:47 Even though it hurt losing the first two games, just seeing the green shoots on Sunday said to me,
23:54 'We're on the right path'. The players want it, everyone wants to win, everyone wants to do well.
24:04 He definitely has, I suppose, where he's worked before at Leipzig and Munich, it's very intense football.
24:16 You've seen with Klopp, you've seen with other German side managers that they have a particular style.
24:24 There's a lot of sprinting, there's a lot of work off the ball, but as a unit, not as an individual, as a compact unit.
24:33 They're getting used to that, moving up and down the pitch, breaking quickly, moving up with the ball,
24:40 pressing and trying to win the ball back early. If we can't, make sure we're compact.
24:46 When they play forward, can we win it, can we break?
24:50 They're things that teams do, but particularly he wants our team to do it, he wants Sheffield Wednesday to do it.
24:57 The boys are working hard to make that happen.
25:00 I think most people are really, really impressed with the speed at which people have bought into it.
25:06 For you in particular, you've worked with some great managers, both as a player and in your post-career as well.
25:15 How impressed have you been with Danny?
25:20 I think straight away when we met, he had clips of what he wanted to show the boys.
25:29 I was involved with him saying that would be a really good clip to show, because he said, "This is what I want."
25:35 I said, "Oh, they can do it." Everyone learns different ways visually or out on the pitch.
25:42 If they get it when you speak, when you show, and when you show them out on the grass, then they'll get it.
25:50 We've done it again and again, it's been repetitive, but the message is getting through.
25:58 I think for me, as I said to you, I spoke after Plymouth, I basically said, "Guys, about the details."
26:07 At the top level, they get the details right 99.9% of the time.
26:12 That could be the difference between winning and losing, getting a point, or three, or none.
26:19 I think that's where we're at now. The details that the boys took on for Watford, even though it was only a few days.
26:26 Again, after that, debriefing, learning for Plymouth. Like you said, there's details that game.
26:33 We dominated the game for the first half an hour, and it was our mistakes, details.
26:39 But then you get the details right, more often than not, on Sunday, you get a result.
26:45 It's no coincidence. The boys are asking questions, which is good, because they want to learn,
26:51 they want to grasp what Danny, Henrik, and the rest of the staff want.
26:57 I think that can make a massive difference for us moving forward.
27:02 I think we're in a decent place. It's very early, but actually, take it on board.
27:12 We've been in dressing rooms, we've coached, we've managed, where we actually know you get that right more often than not.
27:21 It's going to get you to where you want to go.
27:24 I wanted to ask you a little bit about Ted Lasso, because I had to, as a genuine fan of the show.
27:32 But just with Ted Lasso, how did that all come about?
27:35 Bizarre. Everyone asks me. I actually did an interview yesterday from home, no, on Monday, from the New York Times.
27:46 I mean, bizarre.
27:48 It's a bit of a step down to me, unfortunately.
27:50 Very cool. Sheffield star and New York Times.
27:54 We're often spoke about in the same brand.
27:56 Yeah. So I got a call in 2020. I'd just left Ardau Den Haag because of lockdown.
28:06 So I was out in Holland, got home, obviously lockdown happened.
28:10 And then I got a phone call from Rob Wadsworth, who is an agent, he's in digital sports marketing, someone I've dealt with over the years.
28:22 And he just said, "I've had a script land on my desk. It's about an American football coach taking over a Premier League team."
28:36 Straight away I said, "Well, that won't work, will it? That just won't work."
28:40 And he said, "They've asked me to get someone to coach the players or the extras."
28:47 You can't call them extras now. They're support actors, SAs. Yeah. Anyway.
28:55 So I said, "Well, I'm not doing anything."
28:58 At that point, I wasn't working with England or Spurs.
29:02 So I went along and basically what they wanted was a bit of realism to the practices that were going on, either that was in the script or in the background.
29:15 And they just said, "We just want it to look as if this would happen at a Premier League team."
29:20 So I was like a coaching advisor, really.
29:24 I'd go in maybe twice a week whenever they needed me and they were filming those scenes.
29:31 And then what happened was I did a game on Sky as a pundit.
29:38 I can't even remember what game. Maybe Charlton game or Leicester. I really don't know.
29:43 And one of the production team saw me and they said, "That's the guy who comes in and coaches the players."
29:52 I said, "Yeah." They said, "Oh, he's pretty good."
29:55 So whoever that was, thank you. Because then they said, "Oh, we've got a space. We've got a commentator. We need a co-commentator/pundit. Would you want to do it?"
30:05 And I said, "Well, if you're going to pay me, yeah."
30:09 And of course, they said, "Yeah, we'll do it."
30:13 And so they hooked me up with Arlo, who is a professional commentator.
30:17 He does live golf now, but he was doing, I think, NBC football Premier League coverage in America.
30:24 And I became an actor.
30:28 Scripts, trailer, believe it or not, bizarre.
30:32 So I'll tell you a quick story.
30:34 When I was a coaching advisor, they would just put me to one side and we'd eat last.
30:41 Everything we got dealt with last.
30:44 The next day, when I came in as co-commentator, they took my suits, they gave me my food.
30:53 It was like sort of there and there.
30:56 Did you have a lie there? Like the things that had to be in your trailer when you got there at work?
31:00 No, I wasn't that bad.
31:03 But I mean, it was a great experience.
31:06 And basically, we had to learn our lines for season one, which was quite tough.
31:15 But then for season two and three, they would all put like auto cues out of the way.
31:22 So we wouldn't have to sort of rehearse. We'd just get there.
31:25 You sort of rehearse the lines because they don't want to film you staring at the auto cues.
31:32 So you sort of look away. And they were so helpful to me and Arla.
31:37 And obviously, it blew up.
31:39 I mean, season one, if you look at season one and the balls and the kit, it's not like how it was in season two and three.
31:48 Because I think they weren't sure if it was going to be a success.
31:51 For me, it was all about timing because it was lockdown.
31:56 So people were at home and they wanted to feel good. And the show is a feel good show about relationships.
32:03 Football was just the vehicle for it.
32:05 It's not really about football.
32:06 No, no. But everyone thinks it is.
32:09 But it was just there. But actually, it was about love, relationships, bouncing back, resilience, being away from home, understanding other people, other cultures.
32:23 And there was a love triangle in it. I mean, it was just bizarre.
32:27 But everyone related to it. It was relatable. It was and is.
32:35 And I mean, how it's blown up is just blowing me away.
32:41 Just filming it over in West London, I couldn't imagine that the show was going to get Emmys for three or four of the cast.
32:53 And I was involved in it and it was just being in the right place at the right time, basically.
32:59 I think they didn't want a real actor.
33:03 I think they wanted someone who had been in the game.
33:07 And actually, people would say, "Oh, yeah, he's been a player and manager."
33:10 I think they wanted a little bit of realism.
33:13 They felt if it was an actor, then it would just be an actor.
33:18 Where it's someone who's been in the game.
33:21 And as you can see, Jeff Stellan was in it and Thierry Hombry.
33:29 And obviously, it just blew up.
33:31 Pep was in season three. Mike Dean, whether you like him or not as a ref, was in it.
33:37 And it just blew up and it was great.
33:39 It was one of the best experiences of my life.
33:42 I made some good friends. I made good friends with the cast.
33:46 But even Jason, who played Ted, and Brendan, who was his coach, who was number two.
33:55 I think what made it work was they were true to the game in this country.
34:01 I think they took on board all what English football brings.
34:07 And they stayed true to it.
34:09 They didn't bring in, as they could have done, made by Apple, written a lot by American guys.
34:17 But they just stayed true to the game.
34:19 And I think that's why it's a hit here as well as in America.
34:23 Because it was based here. It was the Premier League.
34:26 And I think they just felt that to be honourable to where the game was first played.
34:33 Did you have to make sure there definitely wasn't another season coming before you took this job?
34:38 I haven't asked. A lot of people have said to me, "It looks it, the way it ended."
34:45 Have you seen it yet?
34:46 Yeah.
34:47 Oh, right, okay.
34:48 But there are rumours that they might do something with Roy Kent, because he's now the manager.
34:56 Brendan, I can't see how Ted would come back.
34:59 But obviously it's called Ted Lasso, so it would have to be called something else.
35:02 Plus, the guys have been away from home for nearly three years.
35:06 They all live in America.
35:08 Brendan, Jason, they were away for eight, nine months a year.
35:13 I think they need time at home.
35:16 And then maybe, who knows, maybe in a year, two years' time, they might get the urge to do it again.
35:21 But it's been a brilliant success.
35:23 It's on Apple. I think if it was on mainstream TV, it'd be even bigger than what it is.
35:30 But it's got a great following, great cult following.
35:34 I get stopped in some really odd places, and I say, "You're the guy with Harlow."
35:41 Barber shops, on the tram, supermarkets.
35:46 Do they ever ask you to do lines?
35:48 The really famous one is Independent Music Time, it's Ludiac.
35:51 Yeah.
35:52 I was going to try and slip that into the interview and see if you'd say it.
35:56 Do you get people asking you to say stuff in that?
36:01 No, no. I've forgotten a lot of it.
36:05 They gave us such great lines, especially me, because I didn't say a lot.
36:11 And some people say, "You can tell he's not an actor."
36:15 Well, I'm not meant to be, to be honest.
36:17 We're not going to risk losing you to the acting world, are we?
36:20 Absolutely not.
36:21 I'll see you in like, Expendables 5.
36:23 Or 6, or 26.
36:26 Yeah, no.
36:29 I mean, the amount of times we laughed when we were filming scenes.
36:37 But it's just part of it.
36:39 It was really fun to do.
36:42 I still speak to Harlow.
36:45 And it was just a great, great thing that a couple of Sheffield Wednesday fans on Sunday
36:51 said to me, "Can I have a picture? I really loved you in Ted Lesser."
36:55 And I'm thinking, "I've played for 24 years, been with England, I've managed, I've coached, but..."
37:02 "I'm a former England international, thank you very much."
37:06 But you know what? It's part of people's lives.
37:09 And if it makes them happy, I'm happy for them.
37:13 Just lastly on that, you spoke about fans and you want to make people happy.
37:20 You know how much this club means to the city.
37:25 For you personally, how much would it mean alongside Danny and Sasha and Henrik,
37:30 how much would it mean to bring success to this football club at this level?
37:35 Well, we've got to think that way.
37:38 It's a long way off.
37:39 I think what we've got to do is deal with the short term.
37:44 I think everyone saw exactly what this club can do with what happened last season.
37:53 I'm sure they could have sold that number of tickets again.
37:58 But we've got to think the short term, we've got to think the immediate.
38:02 Let's get the points and results that we crave and what we want.
38:07 And then we can start putting in place, hopefully.
38:12 We need the time. I think Danny as a young manager needs the time to build and do something.
38:19 Because it's what every manager wants.
38:22 If you want to build success, it doesn't come overnight.
38:25 It's very, very rare that that happens.
38:28 What comes with that is a structure and understanding that we have to go together.
38:37 And I feel that we can do that.
38:41 Let's just deal with the here and now.
38:44 And we'll deal with the future when it comes.
38:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]