Pundit pushes Pars

Sky Tv's Neil McCann brings his top tips and analysis to benefit Dunfermline.

Neil McCann is managing to balance his commitment as pundit on Sky Tv with his desire to develop his coaching skills: He is fortunate to be able to offer almost all his time since the job with Sky is weekend based. He explained in an exclusive interview with the website that he and Jim Jefferies felt that it should not conflict too much. Neil told us:-

"My Sky work is predominately on Sundays so that allowed me to come in on a full time basis so it just progressed from there. I have always been interested in coaching and management and I have just graduated from the UEFA Pro Licence. All my badges have been taken care of; I have always wanted to get them done. Working with Sky is brilliant but it doesn't fill the gap in my football life of being able to get hands on with coaching."

Neil has had a good relationship with Jim Jefferies at Hearts. It was Jefferies who signed him from Dundee in 1996 and they worked well together winning the Scottish Cup in 1998 before Neil left for Rangers.

"When you achieve something at a club like Hearts there is a bond there. That always remained and I have a huge amount of respect for him. The opportunity came up to help him and Gerry and it seems to be working well and I really enjoy it."

McCann has had an impressive list of former managers whose style and experience can be drawn on. These include Jim Duffy, Dick Advocat, Alex McLeish, Gordon Strachan, Harry Redknapp, Walter Smith.

"I always took a keen interest in what went on in training; how they dealt with certain situations whether it be man management stuff off the park, on the pitch, and how much of an input they made. My job at Sky gives me a brilliant insight into what goes on behind the scenes. I get to speak to managers, coaches and players all the time."

The different viewpoints allows McCann to see the game from a different perspective.

"I have a lot to learn but I have built up a lot of experience over the years which I'll try and pass on and hopefully be a help to Dunfermline players. I think you take different things from different managers. Each one has his own qualities and it's about taking what you want from each of them but remaining your own man. They were different characters, for instance, when I went to Rangers there was more the Dutch influence - very tactical and disciplined. At times It was about taking your rest, even sometimes in training, I felt it very alien."

Neil in the dug out at Falkirk Stadium

Neil recalled an example:-

"Pre season with Jim Jefferies is all about giving your maximum, total hard work, pushing yourself to the limit ....I've done it all with him sand dunes the lot!!! Then I went to Rangers with Dick Advocatt and I was handed a watch and told to slow down in the first couple of days of pre season. I thought 'that's not right'. It was just a different outlook.

The job as pundit with Sky Sports started four years ago and since he had never done anything like that before he described it as like being thrown in at the deep end. He revealed a little about the job:-

"I get loads of statistics sent to me by the Sky team on a Thursday or two or three days before a game. I sit and swat up on team form and different players and take notes on relevant information. I watch games right through the week including the half time stuff, the before and after game analysis. It is amazing what you can pick up. Generally it is guys who have played at the highest level who are doing that so you pick up all sorts of different coaching points."

This enhances Neil's already very good knowledge of players and teams since the job allows him to spend time devoted to that. Neil feels that this definitely helps in his coaching role. This can only be of benefit to the Dunfermline players and he went on to discuss the current squad:-

"I know the gaffer has said before that there are a lot of similarities with our team now and the one I played in at Hearts which he built. He's building one here too. In doing that he's brought in a lot of youth, hunger, ambition and a freshness. Then there is a mix of older boys who are the right type, they are good players and guys who the younger lads can learn from. I can definitely see the similarities in terms of the tempo in training and how they approach games. You only need to look at the games against Falkirk and Morton going on right to the very end. That's how we train and that's how we play.

"It is a great squad with a good average age. We have boys who have loads of experience behind them already but a lot of them haven't had the experience of the top level yet so they are still learning the game. We are a new team but are coming together; how they have gelled in a short space of time speaks volumes for what the Manager and all the staff are doing here. We have all tried to work hard in training to create the right type of atmosphere and the guys have bought right into that."

Jim Jefferies and Neil McCann

Jim Jefferies comes over as a soft gentle man but Neil warned that you cannot judge by the tone of the voice:-

"He might be soft spoken but I have been on the end of the other side a few times. It is nice to be standing behind him when he is winding himself up. That's how he has been successful in his career, he always demands - thats his style. If he is happy with you he will tell you and that is just as important as getting a rollicking and demanding more. He is good enough to come and praise people up and put the arm round them. That is definitely something that you have to do with footballers.

"There are three different types in football:- some need a rocket to push them on, others need a cuddle and a bit of telling them that they are doing great. Then you have the difficult ones who you cannot praise too much because they go slack but cannot hammer too much because they take the huff. There is a balance there and over the years Jim Jefferies has developed the experience to pinpoint who needs what. I do not know if the boys know what they are yet!

Neil McCann with Grant Munro and Shaun Byrne

The players have a chance to relate to Neil because he can act as a bridge between them and the management:-

"Because I still train now and again and not to mention I'm the pup of the Management staff!! I might have a different relationship with the boys and they may feel they can talk to me about things that they might not go to the Manager or Gerry about. I'd like to think that it is working well as a team; I will have my say - the Manager and Gerry have been great in allowing me to be full hands on with the first team. I get my bit in the dressing room and although that is important, I know who has the final say."

So to sum up ,Neil could only praise how good work is for him:-

"I have a brilliant job at SKY and I love doing that but there is nothing to beat being involved in a football environment, I am very lucky to have an opportunity where I can do both and it is something that I am absolutely loving."