Speed Wants to Slow Down
Coach Gary Speed of Sheffield United says he is in no rush to make the jump into management of a different team.
Speed has been linked with a variety of managerial positions at clubs all over the football league. However, he says he is still learning his trade as a coach and does not want to risk the success of Sheffield United by leaving the club.
Speed is one of the most experienced figures in the game and has developed a football knowledge having spent time at different clubs across England in different leagues.
He is clearly a very well liked and respected person at Sheffield United and his decision to stay will have a number of huge benefits for the club. It is important to consider his managerial qualities because sooner or later an offer may come along which would be too tempting to turn down.
Benefits
Speed is a very experienced professional at Sheffield United and there are few at the club who can match his knowledge of the game. He has a very good ability to help younger players and others around him in difficult situations and this is something the club would lose if he went off to coach at another side.
He's a very active coach who likes to get involved. His playing career did not shut down too long ago and that means that he still has many ideas and thoughts fresh in his mind. This will help him as he can get his ideas across in a practical way, which is not something that all coaches can do.
The club will not have to go of and hunt for another talented coach. This would have meant a great deal of effort to find someone who has a similar level of influence as Speed.
He said: "I've made no secret about wanting to go into management eventually, but I'm 40 now and I've got a lot of time to do that. When I finished playing I had a couple of offers and looking back, I'm glad I didn't take them. I thought I might be ready then, but now I can see I obviously wasn't."
Managerial Qualities
Speed has the ability to command respect and this is very important for someone who is thinking of being a manager in the future. If you are in charge of a team then you need to be able to keep your players in line at all times.
Speed's man management skills are second to none. He has the talent needed to make players believe in themselves and to give them confidence at times when they most need it. This quality will develop as he gains more coaching and managerial experience.
He added: "The club refused permission for me to talk to Swansea and that's fine - I'm under contract here, I respect the club's decision and that's it. I spoke to the manager and he was great with me, so that's it - it's forgotten now and I'm just concentrating on the club and the start of the season."
Betting Advice
There is no doubt at all that Sheffield United will form a much more organised and compact unit now that Speed appears to be staying put at the club. He works well with the defensive parts of the team and this means they will be harder to score against.
The club are a good outside bet for promotion into the Premier League but they will have to have a very good season to achieve this. Have a punt on them to do it if you think they are capable but don't bet too much, because nobody knows quite what will happen.
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