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Daily Record
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Tony Docherty breaks Dundee sack silence as he eyes quickfire dugout return
In an exclusive interview with Record Sport, Docherty insists he looks back on his time at Dens Park with pride Tony Docherty insists he's itching to get back into management after his shock sacking by Dundee. Docherty was surprisingly axed by Dees chiefs at the end of the season - less than 24 hours after guiding the club to Premiership survival. He's since been replaced by Steven Pressley, an appointment that has gone down like a lead balloon with supporters. But the 54-year-old has revealed he's ready to make a quick-fire return to the dugout after a rollercoaster two years at Dens Park. He told Record Sport: "Absolutely. I'm open to anything. I've been in the game a long, long time. "I've been 25 years in dressing rooms at first team level as a coach, as an assistant manager and most recently as a manager. "I just love that environment. I've got that educational background. That's my passion. My passion is improving and developing players and I'm just looking forward to the next opportunity I get to do that." Docherty had been Derek McInnes' long-serving right-hand man at St Johnstone, Bristol City, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock before deciding to go out on his own in 2023. In his debut season in Tayside, Docherty impressively led Dundee to their first top-six finish in nine years and earned multiple Manager of the Year nominations. He nurtured one of the youngest squads in the top-flight, handing more minutes to Under-21 players than any other boss. Experienced Docherty also played a key role in the development of breakout stars Luke McCowan and Lyall Cameron, who have since sealed life-changing moves to Celtic and Rangers And Docherty was the man who ended Dundee's 69-year wait for a derby win in the Scottish Cup, as well as leading them to their first win at Tannadice in two decades. Asked if he reflects on his time at the helm with pride, he said: "Yeah, I think so. I look back on it, and there's a lot within that as well, like your record-breaking derby wins. "Sometimes it can be challenging when you improve and develop players, particularly the young players. I take a lot of pride in the fact that there was a stat out just recently, they were saying about how much we were the youngest team in the league. "So I take pride in that as well, knowing that I played a big part. Not just your boys that you mentioned there, but Owen Beck, Ziyad Larkeche, Aaron Donnelly, Oluwaseun Adewumi... you could go through them all. "I do look back on it with a good sense of pride, but as I say, that chapter's gone now and it's about moving on to the next challenge." Docherty isn't wasting his time by sitting around waiting for the phone to ring for a new job. He spent last week sharing his experience and skills at Oriam as part of the Scottish FA's Uefa A Licence coaching course. Docherty - who revealed he's been sent messages of support by other SPFL bosses - added: "Yeah, I've been busy. I always keep myself busy anyway, but I was down at the SFA A Licence Course, taking the coaches through, being on the staff there with a lot of former managers like Robbie Neilson, Callum Davidson and Jack Ross, boys like that. "So I really enjoyed that. I'm keeping myself busy just waiting for the next challenge. "Football's football. You move on as quickly as you can. I look back on my time at Dundee with real pride, particularly with guys like McCowan, Cameron, Beck and Josh Mulligan. "I would like to think I played a pivotal part in their development and I'm just readying myself for the next challenge." Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.


The Irish Sun
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘Is it really him' – Arsenal cult hero looks unrecognisable as he holds stein in Munich at Champions League final
ARSENAL cult hero Andrey Arshavin looked unrecognisable holding a stein at the Champions League final in Munich. The Russian, 44, was in town to watch 5 Andrey Arshavin looked unrecognisable as he enjoyed beers in Munich 5 The former Russia star wore glasses and a hat 5 Former Russia and Hull boss Leonid Slutsky (centre) also joined in the fun Arshavin appeared in good spirits as he toasted the occasion with a beer while also enjoying food with friends - one of whom was former Russia and Hull City manager Leonid Slutsky. But anyone walking past would have needed to do a double take. That's because Arshavin looked hardly recognisable as he kept a low profile in glasses and blue baseball cap. And READ MORE IN FOOTBALL One fan said: 'Oh f*** I can't actually tell if it's him or not.' Another declared: 'He looks like a science teacher.' One noted: 'That guy put four past Liverpool, let that sink in.' Another added: 'Imagine seeing him at a beerhall and he's like, 'Yeah I played in the Premier League for Arsenal'.' Most read in Football BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS It's not the first time Arshavin threw fans off with his look. The icon again David Raya reveals Arsenal career changed overnight following two-hour meeting 5 Arshavin spent four years playing for Arsenal Credit: Graham Hughes - The Times 5 He was spotted in London looking unrecognisable two years ago Credit: Instagram @ The 75-time Russia international joined Arsenal in 2009 from Zenit for £15million. He went on to score 31 goals in 144 outings before returning to Zenit permanently in 2013. Arshavin ended his football career in 2018 with Kazakhstani side Kairat. And he has since held a backroom role with Zenit, while also completing his Uefa A Licence earlier this year.


The Guardian
10-03-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Jack Wilshere: ‘Arteta was the one. I'd never seen someone coach that way'
If there are nerves when Jack Wilshere walks into the room and sits behind the table emblazoned with the England logo, they are not evident. The 33-year-old has been in press conference rooms many times as a player, but as a head coach it is an alien proposition. He is at St George's Park and is part of a cohort of 25 on the Uefa Pro Licence course who are briefed on a fictional scenario they might face as a head coach before they take a seat in front of a small group of journalists to be brutally grilled on it. The process is a little extreme and not entirely true to life, but it is designed to put them under pressure and test the media skills they have learned that day. The fictional scenarios are far from straightforward, but Wilshere is unfazed. There is a humanity, an honesty, and an all-around likability to him that means that when he steps away from the table after his interrogation there is little to fault. When Wilshere, who in real life is a first-team coach at Norwich, sits down with the same journalists afterwards to be interviewed, those humble characteristics are mixed with a burning ambition. It is evident the pursuit of excellence that drove him as a player has been rechannelled into his coaching. 'I like to have an end goal in sight and that is to be a head coach,' he says confidently, before admitting that was not always the case. Plenty of players do coaching badges routinely while they are still playing with one eye on a possible future career path, but it was watching the Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, that lit the coaching spark. 'Mikel was the one,' says Wilshere. 'I'd never seen someone coach that way, I'd never seen his passion, I'd never seen how he would try to teach the players, both in meetings and on the pitch. I was invited back to train when I was between clubs, I saw it, I was on my Uefa A Licence at the time and it inspired me.' In July 2022, four days after Wilshere had hung up his boots, he was appointed head coach of Arsenal's under-18s and guided the team to the 2023 FA Youth Cup final in his first season, which they lost to West Ham. After two years and three months with Arsenal's youngsters a first senior opportunity arose, as a first-team coach under Johannes Hoff Thorup at Norwich. 'I love it,' says Wilshere. 'When I first started my coaching journey, I wouldn't say senior football scared me, but it was the unknown and I wanted to go in at under-18s level.' At the end of his second year in the Arsenal academy he had 'the itch to go to a first team', but he could still see an opportunity for self-development, so he stayed, until the Norwich sporting director, Ben Knapper, called and made a move into senior football feel 'like the right step'. Wilshere played at the top level, accruing 34 England caps and demonstrating exceptional skill in midfield, but coaching is like 'starting anew', he says. 'It doesn't matter how good you were as a player, how bad you were as a player, whatever you want. It's a completely different skillset you need.' It can be hard for a player of such prodigious talent to work with people who do not match that level of ability, but important lessons have been learned in that respect. 'When I first went in as under-18s head coach, I couldn't quite understand why they could or couldn't do certain things,' explains Wilshere. 'I thought: 'Well, you're at Arsenal, you're an under-18, you should be able to do this, or you shouldn't be doing this still.' My assistant at the time, Adam Birchall, who has now taken the job I left, helped me massively. He came through the Arsenal academy, had a similar journey to me, but I obviously went and played for Arsenal while he went and had to make a career in League One, League Two. 'We had a really nice balance of my understanding of what it takes to get there and him understanding the different stages of development there are, because he coached all the way through, and the requirements needed to have a career at the lower levels. 'I was lucky as well, though, because when I first started with the team there was Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly who were doing things that none of the other players could do. You could see and measure where they were versus where others were. I understood that those two were probably going to go on and play for Arsenal and that for this other group of players, which was just as important, we needed to find a way of making them have a career in the game.' The fear is that young players are products of their academies to such an extent that there is a uniformity to their play. 'I was taught to play the game in a certain way,' says Wilshere. 'Arsène [Wenger] gave a lot of responsibility. The academy played the same way as the first team, but it wasn't: 'This is how we play, this is what you need to do.' It was: 'We're going to put you in a position and your own understanding of the game, your own insight, will create moments for you.' Now, everyone plays the same … let's see if the game changes and players have to take on more responsibility and have more freedom with that, because at the moment it's very structural.' Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Wilshere is effusive on Nwaneri's and Lewis-Skelly's talent. 'They could pick the ball up in any situation, in under-15s, under-16s, in under-18s football, and make something happen. More importantly, Myles is very team-oriented, he's more of a natural leader and wants to bring everyone with him. Whereas Ethan is just really driven, he'd come and seek advice, feedback from coaches.' With England light at left-back, it is not implausible that Lewis-Skelly could find himself in the national team squad for the 2026 World Cup. Wilshere says he would 'be able to handle it' and thinks England can be bolder in their selection of young talent. 'I was in the first team at Arsenal and then I was being called up for the under-19s at England. Don't get me wrong, at that point I was just happy to represent my country,' says Wilshere. 'I wasn't thinking: 'Now I'm ready for the first team.' But I was going from training with Arsenal first team, playing in the Champions League and playing in the Premier League, to going and playing in the under-19s. Of course there was still some developing to do but I think we can be braver as a nation.' There is no topic Wilshere shies away from. He explains, for example, that he is running the London Marathon for the British Heart Foundation, after his daughter Siena had to have open heart surgery to repair a congenital heart defect. He pivots back to his training having a purpose, an end goal. 'I never ever thought I'd be doing a marathon,' he says. 'Never really wanted to. I was convinced to do it by a friend of mine. The other day I ran 20k, it took me two hours. It's probably harder mentally [than physically]. Because I'm not going fast enough to make it hard for me in my lungs. But obviously your legs start to feel heavy.' The Arsenal academy has crafted many young talents, Wilshere among them, but it has also seemingly produced an intelligent and hungry young coach. When injuries stall or prematurely end players' careers, they might be forgiven for thinking their best days in the game are behind them. At 33, Wilshere's may still lie ahead, on the unknown career path he didn't see himself taking.