Kisnorbo: “Ethics and work mentality”
Matt Spiro: Your life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately…
Patrick Kisnorbo: “I came here literally eight weeks ago trying to adapt my whole life, and a whole change of life in France, a new challenge at Troyes, trying to find the right way of doing things here, trying to do the right things by the club, by the team, by the city and everything was quick to do. But transition is transition and I’m trying to adapt and do the best I can at the moment.”
I think it’s fair to say that here in France it was a surprise appointment, not many people expected it. Was it also a surprise for you?
“Yeah, it was. I was telling you before I finished playing an A League game and I got a phone call the next day about the opportunity, so, again, it was crazy. But, all my life i’ve always struggled through thick and thin, i’ve always had doubts, you know, and that’s part and parcel of what we do, so hopefully with hard work and trying to get some things we want to implement here, we can really push and hopefully one day, I’m not going to say it’s now, I hope one day you see another Troyes.”
You started off on the right foot with a draw against Nantes, a match that you played quite well and that you could have won, then this great victory in Strasbourg. It’s really important for confidence, I guess, isn’t it?
“Yeah you know, again I didn’t know what we were up against to be honest when we first played those two games. Nantes are a fantastic team and again I thought we could have taken something from this game, OK was a draw, happy with that, then we went to Strasbourg 2-0, 2-2, it goes both ways, and it was a great determination of the part of the team to work their way through a bit of difficulty and score the goal at the end which, again, was great for the team to see.”
Can you tell us a bit about what you are trying to instill here?
“I think, first of all, I try to instill a mentality of hard work, honesty, never say attitude. I come from that type of growth, I instilled that in every team that I trained and I want to instill it here where, you know, the odds are always stacked against you but you always find something within our group. It won’t happen overnight, but through the training and belief and just showing a few things, it starts to get better – but there’s a lot of improvement to be made. Then it’s the work ethic. I’ve always coached teams that were very good physically, again we play against a lot of very good teams but I think if we can’t match them technically we can match them physically You see the best teams, the best countries and the best clubs, they start with that physical level. We go out of the style of City game, but if you can’t run, the City style of play doesn’t work, and you can see that with Manchester. They work hard and obviously they have the ball but it’s the work ethic and the mentality that is really the start and the foundation.”
Is it realistic for a team like Troyes, which doesn’t have the budget of Manchester City, to try to play Manchester City?
“In my opinion, yes. Listen, I understand that there is a financial gap between us and the top ten teams in Ligue 1, but if we can instill them and improve, money can’t buy everything, n I think when I look at that we want an identity, the CFG wants an identity. We started that in Melbourne so we’re not Manchester City no but I think Melbourne played a lot like Manchester and I think maybe over time other clubs will want to do the same and maybe that’s my job at Troyes.”
You give a lot personally on the training ground, we saw that this morning, we hear that in your voice during this interview. Is it important in your way of working and getting your ideas across?
“Yeah, I haven’t known any other way to be honest with you. I was like that when I coached the Under-20s in Melbourne. I feel like if the players are going to give 100% or if I want 100% on the pitch then I have to do the same. I’ve always been like that, I’m like that. I look at myself first before the team, so if I don’t give myself to 100% on the pitch, how do I expect my players to give me 100% on the pitch Sometimes the language barrier is difficult, I’m not going to lie, I try to use certain phrases in French, but I am what I am. I try to help the players as much as I can, and if I can do it; whether it’s shouting, walking on the pitch, using my hands, I will do everything whatever it takes to help the team and, I’m a passionate guy, I wear my heart on my sleeve, you know, I’m a western guy in Melbourne, I’m passionate, I hit all the balloons, that’s how it is with me and I don’t see myself changing.”
Another thing I noticed this morning, it’s just a detail, but before the workout starts, you go around, you give each other little checks, little hugs. Tell us, what is the thinking behind it?
“So I introduced that in Melbourne to start with. It’s just to let everyone know that you have to have a good training session, that we’re here to train, we’re here to compete, we are here to improve and if the players can feel that every day and have the confidence of the technical staff and the players to help him, then why not. But, I think it’s a good introduction to start and it shows this good continuity, this good camaraderie that once the whistle has passed, we’re here to work and that’s it.”
Do you have the players in your current team to keep you up to date?
“Certainly we did, and it makes them realize that they can. Before coming, I noticed that Troyes was going up and down like a roller coaster, you know Ligue 1, Ligue 2, Ligue 1, and we really want to create a place where we can stay in Ligue 1 and continue to improve and improve our continuity What I’m trying to implement is a possession game and I don’t know all games where you can control possession but I thought that game there and a few other games the practice has really paid off in that regard and we’re trying to control the games better as a player you always want to play at the highest level, as a coach you want to coach at the highest level and against the best teams. So that’s part of my vision, but I also have to be realistic and I have to go one game at a time because that I know it’s gonna be a marathon, it won’t be a sprint .”