Gary Bowyer returned to management back in December, after nearly 18 months out of the game.
The ex-Blackpool boss took over a difficult job at Burton Albion, but was able to keep the Brewers in League One.
The ex-Blackpool boss took over a difficult job at Burton Albion, but was able to keep the Brewers in League One.
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00:00Gary, end of last year, you got back into football.
00:03You took over a very hard job with Burton.
00:05I think at the beginning of the year,
00:07there were 11 points off safety.
00:09And yeah, you did it, the great escape.
00:11So how great does it feel to be back in football
00:13and to be obviously achieving things?
00:17Yeah, I mean, to be back in football was brilliant.
00:20You know, I think I've got a lot to thank Radio Lancashire for
00:25because obviously they had me doing the games at Blackpool
00:28and that was great.
00:29And it really helped because I was watching League One football.
00:33So I was getting an eye on the teams and the standard.
00:37And then obviously the call came just before Christmas from Burton.
00:42And, you know, fortunately for myself,
00:45I found myself being offered the job.
00:47And yes, it was a massive challenge.
00:50I think people were questioning my sanity and saying like,
00:55you know, what are you doing?
00:56But I'd been out of work a long time and I needed to get back in.
01:00And I was excited by what, you know, had been sold to me by the owners.
01:05And yeah, it was a massive, massive effort from everybody, you know,
01:11from like the staff, the support staff, because when we first went in,
01:16you can imagine, I think they'd won two in 21 or two in 22,
01:21that then that stretched to two in 27.
01:23And, you know, they were on the knees themselves, the staff, you know,
01:28and then the players as well, it's similar and the supporters.
01:34So it was a massive job in terms of picking everybody up
01:37and trying to get them with smiles on the faces and start enjoying the jobs
01:42and start enjoying coming to the games.
01:44And fortunately, like you say, we had a good January window.
01:49And then we had a fabulous week where we won three in a week.
01:51And that really gave everybody the belief that, you know,
01:55we're going to be fighting all the way to the end.
01:58What was your mindset going in?
01:59Was it always thinking we can survive this?
02:02Or was it just thinking it's baby steps, take a win, win at a time?
02:05Yeah, I was never in a position where I could guarantee an outcome for anybody.
02:11You know, I couldn't go in and say, yeah, we will stay up
02:13because I've got no guarantee of that.
02:15So what I could guarantee was that we'd worked very, very hard in training
02:19and we'd always be competitive in games.
02:23And that's exactly what we did.
02:25And so it was more a process of, you know,
02:28highlighting what strengths we had individually and collectively
02:33and just keep reaffirming them and just keep building on the positives
02:37and keep showing them the positives.
02:39And like I say, before you knew it, we were winning some football matches.
02:43And as we both know, that that's the big, easy thing to give to players
02:49that gives them that little boost of confidence.
02:52You do love a challenging situation.
02:54Think of Blackpool, where you took them up.
02:56That was a straightforward job.
02:58Obviously, you've been in other clubs where it's been difficult.
03:00So where does this rank among your career achievements?
03:04Yeah, I mean, like you say, I've been very fortunate.
03:08The successes that I've had as I look at them, you know,
03:13I think Blackburn to go in and turn the club around
03:19for all the negative media it was getting
03:22and then build a club, build a team, sorry,
03:24that was young and hungry and with massive sellable assets.
03:28That was a real buzz for me because of the fact
03:32that I've been there 11 and a half years as well.
03:34And so that was a big one.
03:37And then, you know, the romance of being a kid
03:40and watching my dad play at Wembley so many times
03:43to then actually lead your team out for Blackpool at Wembley
03:46was personally a huge moment for myself and my family.
03:52And then to actually top it off by winning there,
03:55that's just huge, you know.
03:57So it's all different then to go up to Scotland
04:01and be an Englishman winning a league in Scotland.
04:04That gives me, again, enormous a sense of pride.
04:08But this one, nobody gave us a chance.
04:10We were dead and buried, you know.
04:12Everybody was taught that we were relegated in November, December.
04:15So, yeah, it's a fantastic achievement from everybody.
04:21But it's difficult to rank them all
04:24because they're all so different and all so unique.
04:27Does that make it easier going to Burton
04:29that people didn't expect to stay up,
04:31that you could just say to the players, they're relaxed?
04:34Yeah, I think so.
04:35I think if you look at the situation we find ourselves now in,
04:38we've raised expectation.
04:40You know, people didn't, when we first went in,
04:42people didn't expect us to do anything.
04:44Again, win a football match.
04:46That was the highest expectation people had.
04:49We end up finishing the season winning nine of our last 19 or 18.
04:53I think you're nine of our last 19.
04:56So, of course, moving into next season,
04:58the expectation's just been raised.
05:00But we know within this game,
05:02obviously, we've got players out of contract.
05:05We've got players that we'd like to keep that are out of contract.
05:08But with the season that they've had,
05:09that's obviously going to provide opportunities for them, possibly.
05:15Then we've had loans go back, like most clubs have.
05:18So we've got still a big rebuild to do.
05:21And, yeah, it's going to be really, really tough again,
05:23because you look at the calibre of teams that have come down.
05:26I know people will go,
05:27oh, well, you've lost Birmingham and you've lost Wrexham.
05:31Yeah, they're two outliers, really.
05:33But coming down, you've got Luton,
05:35who were in the premiership two years ago,
05:37and Plymouth and Cardiff.
05:40Good grief.
05:41How can I forget Cardiff?
05:42You know?
05:43So that just shows you the size of those clubs.
05:47And the clubs coming up are big clubs as well.
05:49Port Vale, Bradford, Doncaster.
05:51So from a budget point of view,
05:54you know, it's going to be very, very tough for us again.
05:57Yeah, is it important not to get carried away
05:59and just thinking first things for going to survive next year?
06:02Yeah, yeah.
06:03I mean, you know, it is exactly that.
06:07You can't get carried away.
06:08Like I say, we've got to rebuild
06:11and bring some more bodies into the building
06:14and see where we are after we've done that first window.
06:18How much did you enjoy stepping back in
06:20and being part of a changing room environment again
06:22and being around a club?
06:24No, it's brilliant.
06:25It's once you've, you know,
06:27I look back to my time when I was at Blackburn,
06:30I was happy I was being the reserve coach.
06:32It was not a problem.
06:34And then you get asked to do the caretaker job twice.
06:37And then you get hooked on the management side of it.
06:42And then, like I say, I've been very fortunate.
06:45I've been in work as long as I have,
06:47as many times as I have.
06:48And I think I've done over 400 games now.
06:51So, but yeah, you can't beat being on the grass
06:55and working with players.
06:56I think, you know, that's what I've always enjoyed.
06:59I've always enjoyed putting a team together
07:01and building a team and then working with them.
07:03How hard was that time away from management
07:06and trying to get back in after, obviously,
07:09your last club had ended on successful terms?
07:12So how difficult was it?
07:14It was tough, really tough.
07:16I mean, initially, because the family stayed in England
07:19when I was in Scotland, coming back was okay.
07:22You know, it was great to get,
07:24to see people that you'd not seen for that whole year
07:28and obviously integrate back into family life.
07:31And then you were able to, you know,
07:33go away on holiday at different times of the season.
07:36So that was good.
07:37And like I say, Radio Lanx and Baisy were brilliant for me
07:43and Chizzy, you know, to be getting in
07:45and dipping into different games.
07:48But then it does get tough.
07:50It does get tough.
07:51And, you know, you start to question yourself.
07:55Doubt creeps in.
07:56Well, not creeps in.
07:57It is there.
07:58And, you know, there is such, you know,
08:01there's better coaches and managers out of work still now,
08:06you know, and they can't get back in.
08:07And it is tough.
08:08It really is tough.
08:09And you need a good support.
08:11You need a process for your days
08:13because the days sometimes can just fly by
08:15without you actually doing anything.
08:17So it's important that you have a process in place
08:19and a structure to help you with that transition
08:22so that you get back in.
08:23And that was, I was fortunate
08:25that I had good people around me.
08:27Yeah, when you parted ways with Dundee,
08:29did you think it'd be such a struggle
08:30to find the next job?
08:33Hand on, no, I didn't, you know.
08:35And I got, I was offered obviously some jobs
08:39that just didn't suit for me and for my family
08:41and of one or two at a level
08:44that I didn't think I wanted to drop to.
08:46And that's not being disrespectful.
08:48It was just, I feel, that still had a lot to offer.
08:52And then I missed out on a couple as well in League One.
08:56And you just get a little bit frustrated with that.
08:59But, you know, when you lose out to one or two
09:01that you look at and you go,
09:03yeah, fair enough, I understand that.
09:06Any manager will tell you,
09:07it's when you lose out to ones where you're going.
09:09I don't understand that.
09:10I don't understand how they've got to that decision.
09:12But that's their prerogative.
09:15And then you just get on with it again.
09:16So, you know, that's the nature of the industry.
09:21Obviously, now you've got back in
09:22and you've done something incredible with Burton.
09:25Do you almost look at those jobs that you didn't get
09:27and think, well, this is what you could have had.
09:29I'm sure.
09:30No, no, you obviously just,
09:34you just concentrate on what, you know,
09:37what we've done at Burton now
09:38and can we build on that
09:40and can we go again
09:41and try and, like you say,
09:44get above that red line again this time next year.
09:47Just finally, you mentioned that doubt
09:49that does come into your mind.
09:50When you are back in and, like I say,
09:52you are doing the job day in, day out
09:54and things are working for you.
09:55What was I thinking about that doubt?
09:58You've got to keep that confidence in yourself.
10:00No, I think it's human nature to have that doubt
10:03and especially when you go out of work,
10:06I think, you know,
10:08you do question whether you will get back in.
10:11You do question, right,
10:12is it time for me to look at doing something else?
10:15And that's just human nature, you know.
10:18And I think what it does do
10:21is it makes you appreciate when you're back in
10:24every day that you're back working
10:26and obviously then what we have done as well,
10:29it makes you appreciate it even more
10:30and I still try and keep in touch
10:33with people that I know
10:34that are out of the game still
10:35and try and support them
10:37because, you know,
10:38it can be a tough, tough place at times.
10:41So,
10:43let's get to this.
10:44Let's get to to this.