‘My wife doesn't get much attention ‘ - Cork City boss on the demands of his job
Re-watching games at the crack of dawn with Mick McCarthy, when most people still have hours to go in their Sunday morning lie-in, has helped toughen Gerard Nash up for his new role as Cork City manager.
He has pledged to put in the hours - on the training pitch and in the office - to help steer the Leesiders to Premier Division safety.
It's his first time to be a senior head coach,after spells at Ipswich, Aston Villa and with Swedish side GAIS, but he believes he has the skills, the drive and the work ethic to succeed.
'It's been a whirlwind, obviously,' he said of his appointment in mid-May. 'Coming into a job mid-season in the situation that I did, it's probably not always the norm. That's for sure.
'Would you want to come in and have your pre-season to plan everything, and do it exactly how you'd wish it? Of course.
'It's been a whirlwind, but first of all I've enjoyed it, I've got some good staff here with me, there was a good bond between the fans and the players in my first game at Turner's Cross, and I just want to build on the momentum that I felt that night.
'The job is full-on, but that's what I expected. It's all I've ever known in any time I've spent in English football and anytime I've spent in Sweden.
'So it's been everything I expected. I don't think there's been any challenge I couldn't deal with.
'I'm just focused on the game on Friday night, it's as simple as that, and I just can't wait for it.'
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The fixture list is relentless. Bohs tonight, then Shamrock Rovers, Drogheda United, St Patrick's Athletic and Shelbourne. All tough games.
So where does he find the time to put his stamp on the team?
'My time in England, in the Championship, it was far more relentless in the amount of games and the way we worked in that respect, so I am sort of used to that,' replied Nash.
'When it's Friday to Friday, I think there is enough time every week to get across things.
'We are full-time coaches. I've got David Meyler by my side and we are working every minute of every day. We are all in on this, this is our livelihood.
'People are leaving jobs to come and work for me, so we are dedicating a lot of time to it.
'I don't think you can be successful in football if you work a 40-hour week. I don't think anybody in football who is successful does that.
'You have to be really dedicated and devote a lot of time to it, so that's what I do.
'The situation we are in is a huge challenge and we need to fight to get out of the situation that we are in, and that's what we are doing.
'My wife doesn't get much of my attention and probably the rest of my family suffers. But we probably do this because it's something that's in us, it's something we love.'
He loves it so much that he's up at all hours, dissecting and analysing past performances, and preparing for what's next.
'I guess I was schooled with Mick McCarthy (at Ipswich), we'd have a game on a Saturday and we'd be in at half-six on Sunday morning watching it back,' said Nash.
'It's what I know. You are working a lot, but that's what it takes to be successful.'
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