Stephen Clemence knows all about coaching having spent a decade at the top end of the game as an assistant manager with Newcastle and Aston Villa, among others. It did not take him long to realise that being the one in charge is a different experience.
“Steve Bruce would ask me about team selection,” Clemence tells Sky Sports. “I would think about it in the car on the way home, switch off, and then think about it again while driving to work the next day. As a manager, those things are on your mind all night.”
Still, the former midfielder would not want it any other way. Now 46, his first managerial job with Gillingham was surprisingly brought to an abrupt halt at the end of last season. There was no thought of taking time out. He is straight back in as head coach of Barrow.
“When I left Gillingham, I got in the car after leaving the stadium upon being given the bad news. And I just thought, I need to get to another office, I need to get on another training ground. I was that hungry. I’ll show you, if you like. I had that fire in my belly.”
Clemence is speaking to Sky Sports from his Cheshire home. The thought occurs that an easier life is available, but football is in his blood. The call from Barrow came when he was on a family holiday but the laptop was soon out and the online meetings began.
He has embraced his new surroundings. “We have got all the facilities we need. Everything is a bit smaller but it brings that camaraderie where everyone is a bit closer together.” Indeed, there is a part of him that is happier working with players at this level.
“It means so much to the lads,” says Clemence. “They are fighting for their contracts. People get tackled and they get back up. There is not so much rolling about on the floor and there is no VAR. I just think it feels a little bit more like it was when I was playing.”
Although his managerial record is restricted to those six months at Gillingham, his experience within the game is vast. “I have had pressure since I was 19 and I got into Tottenham’s team.” As Bruce’s long-time assistant, he saw both the good and the bad.
At Aston Villa, Jack Grealish credited Clemence with a key role in his development – and the respect is mutual. “For natural ability, he is the best I have seen in my coaching career. Even in the Championship, I was surprised he was not in the England squad.”
There was talent at Newcastle too, but they were testing times. Particularly for Bruce, who had an uneasy relationship with media and supporters from the outset. “He was always on the back foot.” Clemence saw how that impacted his colleague up close.
“I know it hurt him. He never looked to me like he was really struggling with it, even though inside he must have been. It was the personal stuff in the end, and I think it got a bit much. These people have families and it hurts. It is not nice when they are seeing it.”
It has not put Clemence off. He has more respect for Bruce than ever before – and not just because of the “unbelievable team-talks” he heard. “My job as assistant was to pick players up. At Gillingham, I was releasing players. They are difficult conversations.”
There was some shock when Clemence himself departed the Gills. He had only been appointed in November following the sacking of Neil Harris and a top-half finish felt like progress for a club that had finished in 17th place in League Two under his predecessor.
“It was a kick in the teeth for me. The explanation given was that the statistics are not good when you change a manager mid-season. They were worried that if it did not start well and they had to make a change that would hinder their promotion chances.
“That was hard to take because I really felt the players were on board with what we were doing. Final-third entries, crosses, shots, all the attacking stuff you look at had gone up since I arrived. I felt we were doing a lot of things right. But we just needed players.
“Gillingham had scored 36 goals the season before I arrived and 35 in the season before that. I managed to get it to 46 but to get into the play-offs you probably need to score over 70. We were really struggling for that killer instinct and that end product.”
The positive for Clemence is that Barrow noted that underlying data and the mitigating circumstances behind his exit. Like Gillingham, they too are keen to adopt a more progressive style of play as they look to establish themselves in the Football League.
“There is a lot of good work that has gone on at Barrow in the last couple of years and I am certainly not here to rip up everything. But they want to change certain things. I think Barrow are getting a better manager now after those six months at Gillingham.”
He soon realised that he needed to adjust his expectations when trying to build play from deep in League Two. “I learned pretty quickly that one or two of the players found it harder than others. The ball sometimes probably needs to go forward more quickly.”
And not just because of the players but the demands of the crowd too. “I went in and played 4-3-3 at the start. But there was a lot of noise, even though results were okay, about how they had always played two up front. I could feel that noise around me.
“I do think if you can get more pressure on defenders in this division then you can cause problems. I did take that on and I did not play 4-3-3 for long. I went to a 3-5-2 and then I went to a diamond. Bodies against the back line cause defenders real problems.”
As a result, although Clemence’s remit at Barrow is to change the style of play – they ranked among the bottom five for possession last season – he is no zealot. “I am definitely not a coach where it is just about keeping the ball,” he explains.
“Every coach says they want to play through the thirds but it is not always possible. I work on patterns against different shapes and then try to get overloads in different areas and that tends to get you more of the ball. Rather than possession, it is about control.
“What are you really after when you haven’t got the ball? Are you going to sit off, are you going to be more of a mid-block, are you going to press? What about in transition, are you going to go straight back after it or are you going to get back into your shape?
“I have got a clear idea of how I want to play.”
Much will depend on the recruitment, in partnership with sporting director Iain Wood. “That has taken up a lot of my time.” Hours on Wyscout trying to work out which players will make the difference. “We have a data system and it is about finding the right blend.”
There is the challenge of connecting too. Barrow train near Manchester – something that helps attract players – but Clemence is conscious of the need for supporters to feel his presence in the community. “I think we have got to bridge that gap a little bit.”
What shines through is that he is determined to succeed. “I want the club to do better than we did last year and to be at the top end of the table. It will take a lot of work but I am looking forward to it. This is what I have been working for all these years.”
As Clemence sees it, a coaching career that began at Sunderland in 2010 and has taken him to the Premier League has led to this chance. The return to Gillingham? That fixture comes in September. “It is a motivator. I have the attitude that I will show them.”
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