New Partick Thistle boss Gary Caldwell feels better prepared for management after soaking up the knowledge of the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Brendan Rodgers during his time out of football.
At 36, Caldwell has already experienced the highs and lows of management. The former Scotland defender led Wigan to the Sky Bet League One title in his only full season in charge after tasting relegation in his first few matches.
After falling foul of the ruthless demands of Championship football months after promotion, he suffered relegation and another job loss in a seven-month stint at Chesterfield.
A 13-month spell out of the game followed but Caldwell has utilised his time with reflection and learning. And he impressed the Thistle board with his attention to detail and drive as the Glasgow club look to bounce back from relegation and a poor start to their Ladbrokes Championship season.
Caldwell said: “I understand the job now. I’ve had a league winners’ medal as well, so I know what it takes to win and get promotions. Those experiences have been great.
“My time out of the game has been great as well, to sit back and reflect.
“I came straight from playing into managing and didn’t have long out after Wigan. So I didn’t really have that time to reflect on my career as a player and my experiences as a manager, and I have had that now and it really solidified everything in my head about what’s needed to achieve that success.
“I picked the brains of some of the best managers in England, and the greatest of all time in my opinion, Sir Alex Ferguson. I spent two-and-a-half hours with him.
“I went in with Brendan for three days at Celtic. He was brilliant, and what he showed me and the advice he gave me. I had a day with Sean Dyche and Rafa Benitez down in England.
“World-class managers who have won everything in the game, to have those opportunities and pick their brains has been brilliant.”
Thistle chairman Jacqui Low admitted Caldwell had “bowled over” the board with his interview and was perceived as the ideal person to lift spirits following a difficult spell, which culminated in the departure of the popular and long-serving Alan Archibald.
Low said: “I think at this point we need to restore confidence amongst the players, we need to restore confidence amongst the fans and, talking to Gary, he gave us confidence that he could deliver exactly what it is we set out to him, which is to get promotion.
“We are at a different phase in our lives now. We have been relegated, that knocks clubs. I think we have done well to continue with the plan and part of the plan was to get a manager who we believed in and would do the job for us, and Gary was that man.
“We both have points to prove. We want to get back to where we think we should be, but we need to earn that right. He knows that we need to earn that right and he has a point to prove as well, because he is young.
“But that coming together I think is going to be a very powerful combination for the rest of the season.”
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