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I'll show I can take the heat, insists new Jamaica boss Barnes
By Chris Wheeler
Last updated at 9:03 PM on 08th October 2008
John Barnes reclines on a sofa in the oak-panelled library of a stately hall in Staffordshire. It is a far cry from the bright lights of the television studio or the National Stadium in Kingston where Jamaica's new boss touches down today ready to rebuild his reputation as a coach.
'I love football and never wanted to leave,' said Barnes. 'I wanted to get straight back in, but the opportunity never presented itself. Now it has.' His only other crack at management, it has to be said, did not go terribly well.
A managerial novice, Barnes could have chosen an easier place to start out than Celtic. Working under his old Liverpool teammate and Celtic's director of football Kenny Dalglish, Barnes won 12 of his first 13 games. But the fans never took to him, the players didn't respect him and a Scottish Cup defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle did the rest. That was nearly nine years ago.
Gut feeling for success: Ex-Liverpool and Newcastle winger John Barnes has been appointed manager of the Jamaican national team
The former England winger went into TV, fronting Five's football coverage and foxtrotting across to BBC in Strictly Come Dancing. Now Barnes is back where he wants to be.
'I enjoyed the media work but in many respects it was to make sure people didn't forget about me,' he explained. 'I always wanted to be back in football at any level.
'Sitting in a studio you have the opportunity to say what should have been done after the event. We can all do that. The hardest part of being a coach is having those ideas before the game. Now I have to put my money where my mouth is.'
Although Barnes, 44, is determined to look ahead, the bitter taste of his Celtic experience remains. 'I don't think it was too big a job too soon, but unfortunately other people did, which impacted on my performance.
'I didn't get the support. I didn't get the belief from the fans. I didn't get the respect of the players. If I said the same thing as Martin O'Neill, they wouldn't listen to me but they'd listen to him because of what he had achieved.
Even when we beat Aberdeen 6-0 I was still being questioned about my decisions. Put it this way, I wouldn't have survived on Juande Ramos's results!
Racist abuse: Heskey was the victim of racist chanting during England's recent World Cup qualification game in Croatia
'You can ignore the fans shouting at you but you must have the respect and backing of the people you're working for. These people didn't want me, they wanted Kenny.
'But I wasn't bruised at all. I recognised why things happened. If Henrik Larsson hadn't broken his leg, I might still be at Celtic. It was just an experience I went through that was necessary to get me here to manage Jamaica.'
Once again the decision to appoint Barnes has not met with universal acclaim, even though he was born and raised on the island. And once again the odds are stacked against him.
If he is lucky, Barnes will get one chance to guide the Reggae Boyz through to the next stage of World Cup qualifying when he takes charge of his first game against Canada next month.
A short-term contract, starting on November 1 and running through to June, means he will be an observer when his assistant Theodore Whitmore stands in for Saturday's qualifier against Sven Goran Eriksson's Mexico and Wednesday's clash with Honduras.
Wing wizard: Barnes was subject to racism from the terraces during his England career
Jamaica, bottom of their group with one point, must win both to give Barnes a shot. Otherwise he will be left with a handful of friendlies and the Caribbean Cup to prove himself. At least he already has first-hand knowledge of Jamaica's predominantly Englishbased players like Ricardo Fuller, Marlon King and Ricardo Gardner.
'There is no long term in this,' he admitted. 'It would have been great to get a six-year contract, but I know that if I do well in a few matches and people like me then we can move on from there.
'There are dissenters and you'd expect that on the basis that I've only managed Celtic for 10 months. But I can't afford to concern myself with any negative thoughts. I know I can be a successful manager.'
It irritates him that just because he was a skilled winger in his playing days, people assume that will reflect his style of management.
'Glenn Hoddle is one of the best coaches around, but you would never have thought that from the way he played,' he said. 'You would have thought his teams would be airy-fairy and flamboyant, but they are highly organised and very well disciplined.'
A target for racist abuse throughout his career for club and country, Barnes saw it all. He dodged the flying bananas and blocked out the monkey chants. You would expect him to denounce FIFA's decision to fine Croatia just £15,000 for their fans' disgraceful treatment of Emile Heskey during England's win in Zagreb last month. But as England prepare to face two more Eastern European opponents in Kazakhstan and Belarus, his response is surprising.
'In places like Croatia and Kazakhstan I don't think there are any black communities for them to realise the relationship you should have with your neighbours.
'I'm not condoning it, but we pat ourselves on the back and throw stones at other people, saying: "That's terrible, look how great we are" when these people don't know better.
'How real is the abuse footballers get? Emile Heskey gets in his car and drives home. I got in my car and drove home to my big house. While it's not nice, there are bigger issues to tackle.'
John Barnes is one of six ambassadors signed up by UNICO to help in the design and development of their sporting centre of excellence at the Tafedna Bay Resort in Essaouira, Morocco.
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WILL FABIO HALT ENGLAND'S MOMENTUM IF HE SLOTS GERRARD BACK IN WITH LAMPARD?
England's destruction of Croatia last month came about with Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard in central midfield. Will head coach Fabio Capello be taking a step back if he returns yet again to a Gerrard-Lampard axis?
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...ss-Barnes.html
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, Evening Standard & Metro Media Group
© 2008 Associated Newspapers Ltd
I'll show I can take the heat, insists new Jamaica boss Barnes
By Chris Wheeler
Last updated at 9:03 PM on 08th October 2008
John Barnes reclines on a sofa in the oak-panelled library of a stately hall in Staffordshire. It is a far cry from the bright lights of the television studio or the National Stadium in Kingston where Jamaica's new boss touches down today ready to rebuild his reputation as a coach.
'I love football and never wanted to leave,' said Barnes. 'I wanted to get straight back in, but the opportunity never presented itself. Now it has.' His only other crack at management, it has to be said, did not go terribly well.
A managerial novice, Barnes could have chosen an easier place to start out than Celtic. Working under his old Liverpool teammate and Celtic's director of football Kenny Dalglish, Barnes won 12 of his first 13 games. But the fans never took to him, the players didn't respect him and a Scottish Cup defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle did the rest. That was nearly nine years ago.
Gut feeling for success: Ex-Liverpool and Newcastle winger John Barnes has been appointed manager of the Jamaican national team
The former England winger went into TV, fronting Five's football coverage and foxtrotting across to BBC in Strictly Come Dancing. Now Barnes is back where he wants to be.
'I enjoyed the media work but in many respects it was to make sure people didn't forget about me,' he explained. 'I always wanted to be back in football at any level.
'Sitting in a studio you have the opportunity to say what should have been done after the event. We can all do that. The hardest part of being a coach is having those ideas before the game. Now I have to put my money where my mouth is.'
Although Barnes, 44, is determined to look ahead, the bitter taste of his Celtic experience remains. 'I don't think it was too big a job too soon, but unfortunately other people did, which impacted on my performance.
'I didn't get the support. I didn't get the belief from the fans. I didn't get the respect of the players. If I said the same thing as Martin O'Neill, they wouldn't listen to me but they'd listen to him because of what he had achieved.
Even when we beat Aberdeen 6-0 I was still being questioned about my decisions. Put it this way, I wouldn't have survived on Juande Ramos's results!
Racist abuse: Heskey was the victim of racist chanting during England's recent World Cup qualification game in Croatia
'You can ignore the fans shouting at you but you must have the respect and backing of the people you're working for. These people didn't want me, they wanted Kenny.
'But I wasn't bruised at all. I recognised why things happened. If Henrik Larsson hadn't broken his leg, I might still be at Celtic. It was just an experience I went through that was necessary to get me here to manage Jamaica.'
Once again the decision to appoint Barnes has not met with universal acclaim, even though he was born and raised on the island. And once again the odds are stacked against him.
If he is lucky, Barnes will get one chance to guide the Reggae Boyz through to the next stage of World Cup qualifying when he takes charge of his first game against Canada next month.
A short-term contract, starting on November 1 and running through to June, means he will be an observer when his assistant Theodore Whitmore stands in for Saturday's qualifier against Sven Goran Eriksson's Mexico and Wednesday's clash with Honduras.
Wing wizard: Barnes was subject to racism from the terraces during his England career
Jamaica, bottom of their group with one point, must win both to give Barnes a shot. Otherwise he will be left with a handful of friendlies and the Caribbean Cup to prove himself. At least he already has first-hand knowledge of Jamaica's predominantly Englishbased players like Ricardo Fuller, Marlon King and Ricardo Gardner.
'There is no long term in this,' he admitted. 'It would have been great to get a six-year contract, but I know that if I do well in a few matches and people like me then we can move on from there.
'There are dissenters and you'd expect that on the basis that I've only managed Celtic for 10 months. But I can't afford to concern myself with any negative thoughts. I know I can be a successful manager.'
It irritates him that just because he was a skilled winger in his playing days, people assume that will reflect his style of management.
'Glenn Hoddle is one of the best coaches around, but you would never have thought that from the way he played,' he said. 'You would have thought his teams would be airy-fairy and flamboyant, but they are highly organised and very well disciplined.'
A target for racist abuse throughout his career for club and country, Barnes saw it all. He dodged the flying bananas and blocked out the monkey chants. You would expect him to denounce FIFA's decision to fine Croatia just £15,000 for their fans' disgraceful treatment of Emile Heskey during England's win in Zagreb last month. But as England prepare to face two more Eastern European opponents in Kazakhstan and Belarus, his response is surprising.
'In places like Croatia and Kazakhstan I don't think there are any black communities for them to realise the relationship you should have with your neighbours.
'I'm not condoning it, but we pat ourselves on the back and throw stones at other people, saying: "That's terrible, look how great we are" when these people don't know better.
'How real is the abuse footballers get? Emile Heskey gets in his car and drives home. I got in my car and drove home to my big house. While it's not nice, there are bigger issues to tackle.'
John Barnes is one of six ambassadors signed up by UNICO to help in the design and development of their sporting centre of excellence at the Tafedna Bay Resort in Essaouira, Morocco.
Comments (0)
HAVE YOUR SAY...
WILL FABIO HALT ENGLAND'S MOMENTUM IF HE SLOTS GERRARD BACK IN WITH LAMPARD?
England's destruction of Croatia last month came about with Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard in central midfield. Will head coach Fabio Capello be taking a step back if he returns yet again to a Gerrard-Lampard axis?
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...ss-Barnes.html
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, Evening Standard & Metro Media Group
© 2008 Associated Newspapers Ltd