PICKING a winning team is hard enough and so is dealing with the expectations of thousands of people who rely on you to make their weekend. But if there is one aspect of life in the dugout where a manager really earns his corn, it's bringing order to a dressing room which is effectively making its own rules. As Greg Abbott revealed in this newspaper at the weekend, that was pretty much the case at Notts County where some players showed scant regard for their employers, the fans or their team-mates. The fact one player was an hour late for Shaun Derry's first day in the job as manager merely underlined not only a desperately poor lack of time-keeping but also discipline. When you take those problems into account, it is nothing short of a miracle that Notts ended up surviving relegation last season. That they did is owed to Derry and Abbott's decision to tackle the unruly head on when it would have been easier to allow the status quo to remain. It could not have been a simple decision because most managers, particularly when arriving at a new club, are keen to keep everybody onside simply because they want to keep everybody onside. But having witnessed the chaos in QPR's dressing room when relegated from the Premier League two seasons ago, Derry didn't need to be a rocket scientist to predict what fate had in store had he avoided the challenge. He will know better than anybody that a bad dressing room is cancerous to progression, particularly where it matters most â on a Saturday afternoon. Let's face it, if a player can't be trusted to make a very important team talk on time â which is what happened prior to the game against Wolves â how can you trust him to watch your back on the pitch? A manager has to have complete confidence in his players and it all begins with how they apply themselves on a day-to-day basis. It was no coincidence that, by the time Derry had finished his weeding exercise, performances and results soon followed. The difference between the team which he took over in the ashes of the Chris Kiwomya era to the one which finished the season was a million miles apart in terms of attitude. There was a willingness to work for each other, players did not argue about roles which may have been alien to them, they simply got on with the job for the greater good. It was important for Derry to stamp his authority and bravo for doing so because players' egos even at League One level can grow rampantly out of control. It certainly should give Notts fans plenty of comfort ahead of the new season especially to have a manager who is not afraid to tackle any ego. Next season will be another tough season, but you have half a chance of succeeding if everybody is pulling in the same direction. What Derry and Abbott have proven is they will go to war with anyone who doesn't. For Notts that can only bode well for the future. http://www.nottinghampost.com/Derry...tory-21281596-detail/story.html#ixzz35Y6tySh6 Hopefully he will continue to prove his worth and be back one day.
