PAUL Lambert would consider a return to Germany as he looks to get his management career back on track. Lambert spent 18 months as a Borussia Dortmund player – famously winning the Champions League with them in 1997 – and returned to the Westfalen towards the end of last season to watch training and pick the brains of then manager Juergen Klopp.
Lambert has been out of work since being sacked by Aston Villa in February and is keen to return to management at the earliest opportunity if a suitable vacancy emerges. And he would not rule following in the footsteps of David Moyes at Real Sociedad by taking a post overseas.
“You do start to get itchy feet when the new season’s just around the corner and you’re not out there managing a club,” he said as he helped re-launch Spohrt, a career development and advisory service for sports professionals. “I had that chat with Carlo Ancelotti. He said the next six months would be the best thing for you. He said, ‘I’ve been sacked a few times and it’s no problem’ because you get refreshed and you start again.
“The unfortunate thing about football management is you have to wait until someone loses their job. I’m lucky that I’m in the position that I don’t have to jump into anything silly. But I don’t mind going anywhere to work if I think it’s right.
“If it’s a good project to take on it doesn’t matter if it’s in Germany or Spain or England. There’s no fear about trying to live in different cultures. The only thing is the language and if you can master that then things become easier. David Moyes going to Spain will be a great experience for him. There aren’t many times when you get to manage against Barcelona and Real Madrid. I think you’ve got to experience these sort of things. You need to open your eyes and see what else is out there.
“I pick up the German language whenever I go over there. People talk to you and some of it comes back and other times you’re racking your brain trying to remember, but you get back into the swing of things.”
Lambert’s first stint in management ended abruptly a decade ago when he resigned after just eight months at Livingston. He admitted it was a shock to the system but he never panicked and eventually got back on track with Wycombe Wanderers, a move that started a successful stint managing in England.
“I knew I probably had to leave Scotland to make another go of it,” he said. “And I was fortunate that I went to Wycombe as that was great for me. English football is totally different so it was a change of environment. And Wycombe is a great little town and it was a good club too. And then I went to Colchester and Norwich and it progresses from there.
“Was I in despair after Livingston? Not really. I wasn’t too worried about what I was going to do as that hadn’t worked. I wasn’t thinking, “this isn’t for me” or anything like that. You just pick yourself up and go again. It never got me that low. I knew that was what I wanted to do.”
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