“I have played in the fourth division, in the Premier League, an FA Cup final and went to a World Cup. It can be done.” It is the kind of positivity Trevor Sinclair wants to share with India’s Asian Cup squad.
Sinclair’s brief is to work on set-piece routines and with wide players but after 14 years in the Premier League which included two relegations — “I felt I was part of the reason as it took me a long time to get back to my form after a World Cup year,” he said about when West Ham dropped out of top tier, and a knee injury that kept him out for a year — the former England international can offer a lot more if the right questions are asked.
The bromance of Roberto Mancini and Gianluca Vialli highlighted during Italy’s 2021 European championship title is possibly the most famous but an international head coach being helped by a former teammate is not rare. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is in Gareth Southgate’s staff at England, Pablo Aimar at Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina and Marcel Desailly with France head coach Didier Deschamps.
Sinclair will join former West Ham central defender Igor Stimac – “an understated player who could bring the ball up and pick a pass, fantastic leadership quality and with whom I hit off straightaway,” he said – in the India coaching staff.
Sinclair spoke to HT on Saturday, his first interview after taking up the India assignment, hours after an overnight flight from Manchester to Doha. Excerpts:
Does this feel like Trevor Sinclair is finally looking at coaching?
I started coaching in 2008 when I retired mainly because my young sons played and I realised they were not being taught the right way. It was win-at-all-costs and not doing the due diligence. I was living in Dubai then (2008 to 2014). When I got back to England, I went straight to Lancaster City in non-league. I enjoyed it but just to get my name back on the map, I decided to do some media work. I was quite successful and it kind of put me away from my passion. In the summer I decided I wanted to do it seriously again.
How did working with India happen?
I put my name out and quite out of the blue, a friend who had had a recent meeting with Igor dropped by. My name was mentioned and Igor had said, ‘I have had a great relationship with Trevor and I am going to give him a call.’ This was probably a couple of months ago and we have been discussing, analysing games, analysing the opposition since.
Igor has done a fantastic job. I thought the 1-0 win away to Kuwait was fantastic. We lost 3-0 (to Qatar) because, I think, we were the second-best team in both boxes. But there were a lot of positives to take from the game: the spirit within the group, the confidence, the composure on the ball. Obviously, there are improvements that need to be made which we have agreed on but I am excited to be around a group of professional players and, hopefully, will be able to help them individually and collectively.
Could you talk us through how?
Football is going the way of NFL where people who have played in specific positions help players in those positions. At Queens Park Rangers, West Ham, Manchester City and England, I have also played with some fantastic players. As a forward of wing-back, I can give ideas about movement, reading the game, making better decisions, how to be a fox in the box without making it obvious where you want to go. These nuances of the game you may not see in a coaching manual. These are things that I have learnt on the pitch.
One thing that I have noticed about the team: you have a couple of key payers that communicate well but as a whole, they are very quiet. There is a saying in the game in England that communication is like having a 12th player on the pitch. You need to improve the confidence of the players so that they can communicate better.
Will you also be working with full backs and on attacking and defending set-pieces?
Igor and I have spoken at length about set-pieces. About simple things that can give the team better shape and success from, say, a throw-in. I think some of the goals we have conceded were avoidable and Igor has mentioned that in his interviews. I have got a lot of ideas to try and manipulate the opposition’s defence to open up space, little blocks here and there. But the players need to believe that this could give them the edge. In a tight game, say against Kuwait it might have been 2-0 if we had taken advantages of our set-pieces. That is what Igor has brought me for, to help with the workload and maybe bring my own little bit of creativity as well.
Your thoughts on India’s group.
Syria is at a similar level to us. Uzbekistan, I have been really impressed with. There is obviously something special going on within the set-up of their federation. We will be sitting deep and trying to frustrate Australia. You will need to enjoy frustrating the opposition. And, when you get possession, how brave you can be on the ball. For me, bravery is also about getting the ball under control when two or three players are around you. That is the kind of bravery you will need against Australia where you will not have much of the ball. It is a really difficult group but better teams than Australia have got beaten by lower-ranked teams. It would be a miracle but miracles do happen.
This is also a good time for me to test the players and see what they can and can’t do and also look forward to the (2026) World Cup qualifiers. I think it is important to spend time with the players if I am going to be continuing in this role.
After Covid, squads for tournaments have got larger (26 instead of 23). That can also mean more disgruntled players as not everyone will play. You would know about it given the circumstances of your making the 2002 World Cup squad.
I was the 24th player in a squad of 23. It wasn’t until Danny Murphy picked up an injury that I was brought it. I know exactly how the player feels. One of reasons England have done so well is because (current manager) Gareth Southgate was one of those players and has integrated the whole group as England players, doesn’t matter which club you come from. That is the kind of culture we need to set. To do that we also have to make sure that it is a fun environment. I look at clubs in the Premier League and they are so serious. They just need to lighten up a little bit. One of the first things you learn as coaches, and it is because you start by coaching young players, is that it must be fun. It mustn’t get lost at the top level. If we can get that balance of sharpening tools with absolute focus with little rondos, little fun games you have got a great chance of getting good results.
Looking back at 2002, how difficult was it to switch from your preferred right-side midfield to the left and that too on the sport’s biggest stage?
I was 27. The year before I was thinking, the England captain and one of the best players in the world is playing in my position. Do I continue to fight for that position or do I speak to the (West Ham) manager Harry Redknapp and say that I would like to play on the left to give myself the best possible chance of going to the World Cup? And that is what I did. I finished the season really well scoring a few goals.
Is there a regret that even with Brazil down to 10, England couldn’t get a goal to make it 2-2?
I don’t regret it. I just think it is an unfair advantage. Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in one forward line, I think that shouldn’t have been allowed. They were the best team in the world. And I remember playing against Cafu, he was a special player. No bells and whistles but he didn’t let players get past him. He was the most difficult competitor that I played against. Sadly, it turned out to be the quarter-final of the World Cup. Our game plan was working superbly, we were 1-0 up and just before half-time we gave a goal away one we probably could have defended better. Sometimes, as Pep Guardiola says, it is just in the stars.