Neale Fenn is currently the Manager of Longford Town Football Club. He is an ex-Tottenham, Cork City, Bohemians, Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers striker to mention a few of his clubs.

We recorded this on a few months back, on the lead up to Christmas in fact, in the off-season and dived into Neale’s career, lessons learned during that period, and also talked in detail about his move into football management.

As a Longfordian, it was a great treat to chat with Neale, even if he is a Spurs fan.

We covered a lot in the hour and it was a great learning and insight into how Neale has been developing as a manager.

Topics discuss during the show include:
•Not having Management as part of his plan when playing
•Starting Coaching Badges toward the end of his career
•Assistant Manager Role with Layton Orient igniting an interest in Management
•Crisis Management in the role & having a low expectation
•Early Career & Big Breaks
•Ambitions growing up as Spurs and Enfield supporter
•Playing Organized football at Under 11s
•Scouted by Spurs and managing to keep moving up the ages with Spurs
•Absorbing football & practicing non-stop – love playing football
•Starting to stand out more as he moved up grades
•Having natural talent and more ability
•Confidence from playing well
•Having a belief in his own ability & knowing a great performance was in his own hands
•Leaving school at 16 after being offered the 2 year apprenticeship and know this was what he wanted to do
•Scoring goals and getting to the FA youth cup final
•Pressure having a positive impact on performance
•Learning from Les Ferdinand, Teddy Sheringham and Gary Mabbutt
•Memories of a first team debut against Man united at Old Trafford in 1997
•Contacted by Agents and getting boot deals thrown at him afterward
•The Dream Contract - signing a 5-year deal with Gerry Francis
•Dealing with an injury and keeping positive
•Playing for Ireland was a no brainer
•Regrets? Yes, many
•Becoming a training ground footballer so looking for new opportunities
•A new start with Peterborough
•Football is just a job? The love of the game always there
•Dealing with the mental side of the game while out of the team
•Moving to the League of Ireland – A surprise move?
•Making a big impact in the 3 years in Cork
•From Dundalk to retirement to Shamrock Rovers
•First ever interview for the Longford Town FC job
•Pithing for the job and waiting for the news!
•Leadership & Management Styles:
oPlaying the way he wanted them to play!
oMotivating players and balancing expectations
•Creating a philosophy that he believed in and where this came from
•Bending the approach when needed
•Balancing winning & possession football
•Learning from last season – trying to win every game
•Developing Patience and waiting for the right opportunity
•Challenges with recruitment, part-time football, facilities
•Approaches for preparation – video analysis once per week
•Qualities in other leaders?
oPat Dolan – knowledge of everyone as a standout
oPat Fenlon & Damian Richardson – determination
oMichael O’Neil – having the same view of the game
•Learning from others but making your own decision in the end
•The Book recommendation:
oA brave new world – Potictiono


Contact Neale:
•@NealeFenn – Twitter
•LinkedIn – NealeFenn
•The Coaching School - Path2Pro - https://www.path2pro.com/


Thanks for listening to the show!