PAUL LAMBERT wants to separate the two elements of his career.
The footballer who won the Champions League and four Scottish championships has, he says, little to do with the manager who stands on the brink of a second successive promotion with Norwich City. He is, however, willing to entertain one comparison between the two.
Should his team follow up their League One championship by gaining automatic entry to the Barclays Premier League – and so become the first team since Manchester City 11 years ago to reach the top division with back-to-back promotions – Lambert believes the achievement may trump his big night in Munich.
There, in 1997, he was an unlikely hero for Borussia Dortmund, coming out on top in a personal duel with the great Zinedine Zidane and creating the first goal in a 3-1 victory that saw them crowned kings of Europe. He also won four league titles at Celtic and captained Martin O’Neill’s side to the final of the Uefa Cup in 2003, and was capped 40 times for Scotland. As a 17-year-old, he won the Scottish Cup with St Mirren.
Lambert believes leading Norwich back to English football’s top division may top it all.
With two matches remaining in the Championship they are in second place, one point ahead of Cardiff City. On Monday night, Norwich travel to Portsmouth before ending their campaign with a home game with Coventry. Two victories will take them into the Premier League.
“You have to separate your playing career and your career as a football manager,” he said. “I was lucky enough to enjoy some fantastic moments as a player and it’s nice to look back at times and recall some of the highlights.
“I managed to win quite a number of medals, but the truth is I couldn’t say exactly where they are. They are all in the house somewhere, however, I couldn’t pinpoint where. I don’t have them on display or anything.
“Of course, winning the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund was fairytale stuff for me, considering I went there from Motherwell. I’d imagine, with the exception of winning the World Cup or something like that, winning the Champions League is as good as it gets. When you hang up your boots though, that is the end. Being a footballer and being a football manager are two completely separate things. You can have great players who weren’t great managers and you have great managers who weren’t great players.
“So what I achieved as a player doesn’t count for anything now. Yes, some of the experiences I gained can help me in my current role, but now I need to concern myself with 22 players instead of just myself. But if you are asking me would leading Norwich City to promotion to the English Premier League be as satisfying and pleasing a moment as I’ve experienced in football, then yes, I’d have to say that would be the case, if we go up.”
Lambert’s reputation in England is built on consistent success at each of the three clubs he has managed. After a dismal start to management at Livingston, he took Wycombe Wanderers to the semi-final of the League Cup and the League Two play-offs. At Colchester United, his team’s 7-1 demolition of Norwich on the opening day of last season convinced the Carrow Road board to recruit him. In almost two full seasons, his team’s success has rarely been interrupted.
“It’s been unbelievable,” said Lambert. “When we took over at Norwich City, they were second bottom of League One. In fact, had it not been for Southampton being docked 10 points at the start of the season, we would have been bottom.
“I told the players when I first spoke to them that we could go up if they bought into what I was going to do and things just went from there. We won the title and the target this season was to try and consolidate, get as far up at mid-table as possible and simply make sure we survived. When you compare the budgets throughout the Championship, that is exactly where we should be.
“In our first league game this season, we lost to Watford. I blame myself for that defeat. Sky TV were covering the game and they were everywhere, interviewing everyone around the club and we didn’t focus properly on the game. It was a lesson learned.
“We don’t have anywhere near the resources other teams in this division have, but what we do have is a fantastic bunch of players and an unbelievable support. I honestly can’t speak highly enough of them all. The bond between the players and the fans is simply incredible.”
That is backed up by an unbelievable stat. “I think we’ve picked up something like 23 of our points in the last five minutes of games,” he said. “Do you know what it reminds me of at times? What it was like at Celtic under Martin O’Neill.
“That team had the belief and desire to keep going and continue chasing results even when it looked highly unlikely. We would snatch a victory in the last minute or even secure a draw into injury-time and it has been the same here at Norwich this season. As a manager, I at least know the lads will keep going until the final whistle. They’ve given me everything. Even the loan signings have been terrific. It can be difficult to get them fully focused because they are only with you for a short time, but that hasn’t been a problem.
“I gave them all a few days off during the week and I came back up to Scotland to spend some time with the family and try to switch off. But we are in this weekend and we have a huge game on Monday night at Portsmouth. If we can win that one, it will be a huge step for us, because our final game is at home. We just want to get two positive results and see it through. We have never lost back-to-back games throughout my time here, so that is also a big thing.
“It’s frightening to think Norwich City might be in the English Premier League next season. We are really close, but I’ve told the players we’ve got to keep it going and not switch off. We want to see this through.”
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