Former England national team manager Steve McClaren believes that creating the right culture and environment at a football club is the ultimate ingredient for success.
McClaren, who is now technical director at Derby County, was in charge at Middlesbrough as they won the English Football League Cup in 2004 and then guided FC Twente to the Dutch Eredivisie title in 2010.
He has also had spells in charge at clubs including Nottingham Forest, Wolfsburg and Newcastle United and was also number two under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United during more than 20-years as a top level football coach.
He knows more than most what is required to make an impact at a new club.
"My first thing, when I go into a football club, is to try and create a culture and environment in which everybody, from the tea lady to the kit man, all the way up to the owner, want to be a part of and look forward to coming into work," said McClaren.
"We have a vision for how we want to do things, where we want to go that's along with ownership, and it's then communicating that vision over. That's where communication is very important to get it out of your head and verbally express that to the staff and the players. It can be very difficult so you have to communicate very well."
"Once you've got a vision and everybody's on board, I believe there's no better feeling in the world than when you've got that in the palm of your hand and and it's working. Everybody loves coming to work. Everybody's enjoying what they're doing. That for me is utopia."
He added: "I've had that a few times in my career, I've also had it on the opposite scale where we haven't got that and for whatever circumstances, I might be a part of that, circumstances might be a part of that, that we haven't enjoyed going in or we're losing too many games, it's not a good environment.
"I think the environment and culture is is number one."
Watch the full interview with Steve McClaren as he talks about leadership, coaching and management, mentors and working with Sir Alex Ferguson during his long career in football. (MiMentor subscribers only)
If you'd like to learn more about how you can create a culture within your club, check out our CPD course with Grant Downie OBE, on the importance of creating an elite environment as he delves into his experiences at Manchester City Football Club. Click the image below...
