- Oct 17, 2008
- 14,326
I think it’s just frustration and calling out the behaviours, what set him off was members of the existing staff and backroom team saying, within earshot of the players, that they’re essentially going to get battered in an upcoming game.A good start at the head coach would be to never mention it at all, and instead constantly talk about how mentally strong the team is, and how they are fighters. It's the oldest trick in the book and works on toddlers, let alone adults. If everybody talks about them being chokers, they're more likely to carry on being chokers.
Obviously it's our responsibility to counter it by referring to them as chokers and Spursy at every turn.
Personally, I’d make it more about “managing out” undesirables than trying to publicly shame them, but I think Ange is an emotional man and was probably - rightly - pissed off at the situation.
It’s a poisoned chalice because they truly are born to be Spursy