Scotland v Armenia

HAMPDEN PARK / WEDNESDAY, 8 JUNE 2022 SCOTLAND v ARMENIA / 52
FINISHING
SCHOOL FOR
MANAGERS
The latest batch of Pro Licence students
will graduate tonight
Some familiar faces such as Russell
Martin, Maurice Ross, Peter Lovenkrands
and John Rankin are among the coaches
who graduate tonight from the Scottish
FA’s UEFA Pro Licence course.
Greig Paterson, Head of Coach Education &
Development at Scottish football’s governing
body, believes the course is gaining in kudos
with each intake and there is a growing
body of evidence to back up that assertion.
To date, the Scottish FA have delivered
13 UEFA Pro Licence courses and have
had 217 graduates. Demand has never
been greater for places on a course where
people such as Jose Mourinho, Andre
Villas-Boas and David Moyes, among other
top names in the football world, regularly
impart their knowledge and wisdom.
Yet, perhaps surprisingly, the Pro Licence
course, despite being the final rung on
the coaching certificates ladder and
something of a finishing school, is not so
much concerned about the complexities
or otherwise of modern-day tactics, but
the age-old issue of managing people.
And that can come as a surprise to some.
Paterson said: “Kevin Thomson, who is on
the current course and not the one which will
Maurice Ross
graduate, told me that he was blown away
by the way everybody talks about how to
deal with people, how to manage people and
how to get the most from leadership skills.
“Jose Mourinho, Andre Villas-Boas, David
Moyes, and the late Walter Smith, who would
have presented on this course, all these guys
come in and talk about how to lead people
and how to get the most from people.
“They don’t talk about playing through
the thirds, or playing with inverted
wingers and all that kind of stuff.