THE aside is designed as a quiet rebuke but it offers an intriguing insight into Dougie Freedman's character.
"My Spanish is not what it should be," says the Bolton Wanderers manager, his face betraying a rare flash of frustration. "But I'm learning . . ."
Education is important to the Glaswegian. So, too, is the influence of other cultures. It is why, well before the end of an understated but rewarding playing career, he spent his summers in Italy studying to become a coach. For six or seven years in succession, Freedman was an enthralled observer of training sessions at Milan, Lazio and Palermo and resolved to glean as much information as he could from coaches whose qualifications put those of their British contemporaries to shame.
That thirst for knowledge continues to this day. As he shows you to the door, the 39-year-old is still recounting a more recent experience of watching Pep Guardiola at close quarters, explaining enthusiastically how he watched the Bayern Munich coach repeatedly stop a session to drag some of the best players in the world this way and that, only by a matter of inches in some cases, in his pursuit of perfection.
Details matter to Freedman, too. When he talks of football management abroad being "more serious" it is an acknowledgement of the benefits of dividing responsibility between a coach and a sporting or technical director; the way in which it allows each to sharpen their focus. The traditional British model of management, he believes, can ask too much of individuals who are underprepared for what awaits them when their cossetted existences as players end.
"Just because you used to be a footballer gives you no right to be a manager," Freedman says, springing forward in his chair at Bolton's training ground to reinforce the point. "In this country, you've got to learn how to deal with the media, with certain aspects of financial fair play, with coaching, with social problems in players, language barriers . . . you've got to totally start again.
"So many former players think 'right, I'll get my badges and that's me' but then they have to talk to a board on a Monday morning about how they've spent more than they should have on scouting. They had better have their numbers ready and if they haven't got skills in business or accountancy, they'd better get them quickly because the game has changed and it continues to change as we speak."
The job, he insists, has altered significantly even since he was thrust into his first senior managerial position little over three years ago, taking charge of Crystal Palace after the ill-fated tenure of George Burley. At that time, the club were in grave danger of relegation into the third tier of the English game and barely had an infrastructure to speak of after being rescued from administration just six months earlier.
Freedman's extensive studying, business experience and considered beliefs were given a robust examination in a practical situation.
Yet the Scot thrived, reviving Palace to such an extent that, by the time he left for Bolton in October of last season, the Selhurst Park club were in the play-off places and ultimately earned promotion. "We had a clean slate: there were no hangers-on and no ex-players telling you how you should do things because nobody wanted to be identified with the club," he says. "All the players were kids or loans but, when I came to Bolton, there were players who'd just come down from the Premier League with their own ideas about the game and about themselves. That's another challenge for a manager."
It is one he is meeting. Freedman engineered a sterling run that took Bolton to the cusp of a place in the play-offs last term - they missed out on goal difference - before he was forced to shed a succession of high-earners in the summer as the club attempted to address debts of £164m.
Given his desire to bend players to his will, such departures were perhaps not entirely unwelcome even if subsequent struggles this term appeared to leave his job at risk before a recent run of three wins in their last four propelled them of the relegation zone.
However, throughout that cold winter, Freedman was warmed by the belief that incremental progress was being made; that the players he has gathered together subscribed to his ideas; and that he was building an eager young team with a promising future. "I wasn't worried because I've always got an idea of where I want to go and what I want to achieve," he says. "You get different kinds of managers with different sets of skills - is he a coach, a manager, a businessman? - but any man who doesn't have a long-term plan and just takes it day to day has got to take a look at themselves."
Freedman's plan is tinged with Tartan. He remains a keen observer of events in his homeland - a couple of days earlier he had watched aghast as Rangers were held by Albion Rovers - and his latest lessons have been learned at Largs on the Scottish FA's pro licence course. "My mind is stimulated; I'm not just turning up and getting a badge for being there after being a footballer for 20 years," he says.
Furthermore, Bolton scout north of the border and their manager is impressed by what he has seen. "There's a good crop coming though - the ones that won the Victory Shield - and I think there is value for a club like us because we're a bit skint as well," he says. "I'm always looking for younger players I can mould because that's my passion, seeing them developing and learn. That's the most important thing."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article