‘I’ve really cherished this opportunity’

Throughout lockdown, Joe Montemurro has been working harder than ever to make us bigger and better for the 2020/21 season.

From analysing our performances and critiquing his own philosophy, to watching the Bundesliga behind closed doors in his spare time, our head coach has wasted no moment to stay ahead of the curve.

“I’ve actually been watching a lot of football from the 70s and 80s over lockdown too, so that’s been a really interesting watch for me,” said Montemurro.

“But more generally, I’ve just been catching up on a few things that I haven’t been able to finish from a technical and tactical point of view, and it’s also been really good to sit down with the staff and reassess our processes. We’re always looking to analyse our own work and question how we can do things better and more efficiently, so I must admit I’ve really cherished this opportunity.

“I’ve also watched a few Bundesliga games and that’s been really interesting. It definitely takes away a little bit of the emotion and it will take some getting used to because it doesn’t have the package that we’re used to, where the crowd reacts to anything and everything, from a referees decision or a goal, to a good bit of skill or a not so good action! It’s getting to take some getting used to and it’s brilliant to have football back, but I definitely think there’s a little bit of a compromise and usualness to it.”