If anyone knows a thing or two about Martin O’Neill’s managerial effect, Emile Heskey knows better.
You couldn’t even ponder a notion about favourite managers before the four syllables of the Irish boss’ name are spat out with hurried enthusiasm by a footballer playing professionally for over 20 years.
The Martin O’Neill effect.
Heskey hails his former Leicester and Aston Villa mentor as the greatest bar none and, at 37 and half thinking about a career in coaching himself, he hopes he can one day replicate the Derry man’s methods. Fused with Gerard Houllier, of course.
“His man management of the players – and it’s what Neil Lennon’s got now as well – his man management… working with him, I felt on a high every day,” the 62-cap England striker recalled the glory days with O’Neill. “Even when you’re playing Saturday and Monday games, a lot of it is to do with mental strength because you haven’t recovered from the Saturday – you feel worse the second day after a game – but Martin would have you on a high, you would just go out and play and you wouldn’t even feel it. You would feel it after but during that game you were on an adrenaline rush and you just wanted to play for him.
“Martin O’Neill was very good for my time at Leicester because I was a very raw player. I was very talented in the fact that I could run with the ball quite well so he wouldn’t complicate it, he would just tell me to do that.
“He’s a great man for Ireland. You’ve got some good players and the players will work for you and he’ll get the best out of that. At the end of the day, you only need one or two technicians, the likes of Robbie Keane and players like that who can give you a bit extra and push you to the next level.”
With Keane in Ireland this week, all the talk has been about when he’ll hang up the boots but Heskey agrees with the Irish skipper that he has plenty of time before he can start thinking retirement.
“I’m 37, he’s only 34,” he said. “So he’s still got another three or four years to actually even think about that. If he’s going to go into coaching, it’s probably a good time to actually get your badges then so he’s got four years to actually get them and then figure out what you’re going to be like at being a coach. Because you’ll have your own niche and that, your own way of doing things.”
And big Emile is on the case, too. He’s already considering joining the likes of James Beattie, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Stiliyan Petrov on a course in the summer where he can begin his rise in the coaching ranks and put in place his plan of blending Martin O’Neill and Gerard Houllier.
“Because I’m still playing, it’s difficult to know what direction you want to go down. Everyone’s saying, ‘get your badges, get your badges,’ and I wouldn’t mind getting my badges but I still feel like I want to play.
“I’m still thinking football. At least for another year. At least. I’ll see how it goes. I’ve got a contract with Bolton until the end of the season and then I’ll see how it goes from there. I can still do media stuff but I still feel I have a lot to offer within football. But, as well, I can do my coaching badges in the summer.”
In the same week Roy Keane made his return to the TV screens as a pundit with ITV, Emile Heskey was in Dublin for TV3’s coverage of Liverpool’s win over Besiktas in the Europa League but, rather than going toe to toe with the Irish assistant manager, he admits that the Cork man is one of the players he wished he could’ve played with.
“I played with Keano (Robbie) at Villa. I played with Killer (Kilbane), he was good as well to be fair to him. He did well. But Roy Keane would’ve been good. If I could’ve put up with the moaning and all that, and the slating of you! But apparently on the pitch he was great. I spoke to Dwight Yorke and people like that and they said he was absolutely fantastic. You need someone like that to be your captain, if there are any problems he’s the one in first and you’re following him.
“In England, I trained with Gazza, he was unbelievable. Unbelievable. And the funny thing about training with Gazza, I trained with him in the 90s, early 2000s, and you’re looking at it back then thinking he’s great – we’re still looking for the next Gazza now, in 2015. What he did back then, he was miles ahead of himself. We’re still looking for the next Gazza. They said Joe Cole was the next Gazza, then he started playing wide right. I trained with Gazza but I would’ve loved to have played with Gazza at his peak.
“Internationally, Ronaldo. R9.”
The Real Ronaldo?
“Exactly. I’m glad you said that!”
Asked if he and the Brazilian would’ve struck up a good partnership…
“Definitely.”
Another Liverpool legend comes to Tv3 next week with Luis Garcia analysing the return leg of the Besiktas Europa League clash (Thursday 26 February, 5.50pm). TV3 are also showing Champions League games on Tuesdays with a mouthwatering tie between Manchester City and Barcelona up this Tuesday (7.30pm) with Gaizka Mendieta and Kevin Kilbane.
