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Twitter, that ever-present social media phenomenon, is an arena populated by many professional footballers. So far the pick-up with top-level managers and coaches is much less. Not so, England’s new Women’s National Team Head Coach, Mark Sampson.
At just 31, Sampson, the former Bristol City Academy WFC manager, represents a new breed of coach and his Twitter feed provides an interesting insight into his approach and daily schedule.
Recent tweets include "Positivity is like a boomerang. It comes back to you", there has been reference to “creating a world leading environment” as well as a quote by England RFU Head Coach, Stuart Lancaster, reading: “Culture comes before performance, if you don't have a strong foundation your team will break down under pressure.”
Sampson feels Lancaster’s words are fitting for what he is trying to achieve in these early stages of his new project.
“It is a fantastic quote because you do revert to type when the pressure is on. If we want to get to where we want to get to, which is the latter stages of major championships, then certainly handling pressure and making sure we are thinking clearly when the pressure is on is going to be an important element in dictating how successful we can be. So for us now culture is incredibly important.”
The new England coach believes a strong culture is the foundation for all action and behaviour and provides the principles and framework you can fall back on when in need of direction.
“Culture is what you refer back to when the going gets tough. When you’re not sure where you want to go you revert back to that culture the team has created and the culture they have set.
Culture is what you refer back to when the going gets tough. When you’re not sure where you want to go you revert back to that culture the team has created and the culture they have set.
“It is really about what drives you every day. We are looking at what English footballers and English people are traditionally good at and what is going to get the best out of them.
During his five year tenure at Bristol Academy Sampson built something quite unique.
On a shoestring budget and without the support of affiliation with a men’s club, he engineered the club’s rise to two FA Cup Finals, Champions League qualification and a second place finish in the WSL – the highest in the club’s history.
Now, though, he faces arguably tougher challenges in implementing his coaching strategies and philosophies on the international stage.
He explains that empowering the players to take personal responsibility and a pride in being an international player is his adopted approach.
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