As a manager, it is all very well concentrating on the negatives, on the one bad thing a player does in a game, say, rather than offering congratulations on a spectacular hat-trick.
That hard-line approach holds up if the team keep winning. Footballers will stomach their boss constantly nit-picking. They
will overlook his aversion to pats on the back because spirit is good inside the camp. When the points are rolling in and confidence is high, this relentless pursuit of perfection can be handled OK.
But that isn't quite so easy when the tide turns, when performances dip and players lose form. All of a sudden, the gaffer's continual carping doesn't seem so quaint. The dressing-room atmosphere gets a bit heavy, with more people than usual having a moan.
Some reckon that is happening at Liverpool following a couple of defeats on the spin. Rafael Benitez, the man who finds fault in the best of displays, is reportedly having trouble lifting the mood. True or not, the Spaniard now faces an exacting week.
After last night's tricky trip to in-form Sunderland, Lyon visit Anfield on Tuesday for a Champions League tie that takes on added significance after that lame defeat to Fiorentina. And just to keep the tension going, Manchester United pitch up for a cracker next Sunday.
Not only that, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres might miss the lot, having picked up injuries on international duty.
This might be a good time, then, for Rafa to loosen up a bit, to start reminding his other charges of their strengths rather than weaknesses. Because over the next few days Benitez desperately needs everyone pulling in the same direction.
*Sunderland's Brucey bonus: Staying at the Stadium of Light, Steve Bruce is proving again that he knows how to assemble a competitive Premier League side. Until now, at Birmingham and Wigan, Bruce has had to get by on modest budgets. At Sunderland, however, the situation has changed. But rather than diving in rashly, Bruce has handled the responsibility well.
Darren Bent, Lee Cattermole and Michael Turner have already repaid their manager's faith, as has Lorik Cana, Marseille's former captain and now wearing the armband again. It's here, that we see one of Bruce's strengths: assessing the foreign market for the type who will suit English football.
Moreover, it helps to a have a loyal and close-knit backroom staff. Eric Black, Nigel Spink and Keith Bertschin make up a great team that's never short on laughs.
They have won half their games so far and nearly triumphed at Old Trafford last time out. More than anything, that's a measure of Bruce's impact on Wearside.
*Time to stop the rot: Burnley's away record this season reads, in order, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0. While I can't see Blackburn continuing the trend tomorrow, Sam Allardyce's side certainly start as favourites. Can Burnley possibly stay up if results don't improve on the road?
*Takeover season: It's easy to get cynical about foreign owners, especially after the Sulaiman Al-Fahim pantomime at Portsmouth. Some Birmingham fans will want to see hard cash before falling for the charms of Carson Yeung. The same probably goes for their manager, Alex McLeish, who must be wondering about his future. I bet January can't come soon enough, having been promised a £ 40 million transfer kitty. Daily Telegraph
As a manager, it is all very well concentrating on the negatives, on the one bad thing a player does in a game, say, rather than offering congratulations on a spectacular hat-trick.
That hard-line approach holds up if the team keep winning. Footballers will stomach their boss constantly nit-picking. They
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