Sky Sports' Johnny Phillips: Tunnel vision leaves nowhere to hide for football managers
David Moyes’ off-camera post-match comments to a television reporter have been analysed by many. It is perhaps a relevant moment to look at the whole concept of the tunnel interview which Premier League managers are required to undertake as part of the media commitments.
The tunnel is a fascinating environment to be placed in on a match day.
There is a lot that goes on away from the glare of the spectators but, as Moyes found out, it can still be turned into a very public place.
It is in the tunnel that some of the most heated exchanges take place, in confines that can exacerbate tensions and heighten the drama. I love the tunnel. This is a brief outline of what happened at Watford versus West Brom from a television perspective on Tuesday night, a game I was working on for Sky Sports.
Pre-match it’s all very civil, nicey-nicey stuff. The teams arrive around an hour-and-a-half before kick-off. There are plenty of good-natured greetings and players have time to chat with opponents who were once team-mates or members of coaching staff they have worked with at a previous club.
Albion’s Ben Foster and Allan Nyom both played for Watford so they knew staff or players on the opposing side.
The first media obligation is for a player from each team to be interviewed by the host broadcaster – on this occasion Sky – in the tunnel itself.
They can be used by any television company around the world with rights access to the game.
The reporter can ask up to three questions and they must be based around the match. These are fairly innocuous questions; nobody wants to upset players just before a game.
On Tuesday, I spoke to Abdoulaye Doucouré of Watford and Nyom from Albion. As neither player has a particularly great command of English these interviews were blander than usual. Then after the captains took their respective team sheets to the referee’s room an hour and 15 minutes before kick-off it was time to interview the managers, this time in one of the designated interview rooms just off the tunnel.
These are generally more revealing, there’s a chance to ask about selection choices and tactics. They can provide the supporters at home with the final thoughts of the manager before the match. Tony Pulis had named an unchanged side from the one that drew at Manchester United three days earlier so this was the only chance to ask him why he chose to.
By the time the players line up in the tunnel before kick-off they generally have their game heads on. Some are still happy to chat, be it with mascots, the referee or opposing players. Others zone out the noise and just stare at the floor in thought. The cameras are rolling, capturing their behaviour as they line-up to enter the field.
It was only at half-time that the first signs of conflict occurred on Tuesday. As referee Paul Tierney led the teams off there were several players from both sides keen to engage him on his performance.
It came to a head right outside the Watford dressing room. Captain Troy Deeney felt Tierney had let one or two tackles go and missed a kick from James McClean on one of his players. Tierney retorted that Watford’s players were losing their discipline and becoming too vocal in their complaints.
It was heated but not confrontational, there was a healthy respect between the two of them. Deeney agreed to speak with his players at half-time but Tierney knew Watford’s players were unhappy with his performance. As both teams retreated to their dressing rooms the tunnel became quiet once more and only came back to life with the bell to call players out for the second half. McClean did not re-emerge for Albion, he’d been substituted.
The tunnel at full-time was a totally different place. West Brom’s players were first off the pitch, dejected and downcast. Many were uttering expletives as they entered the tunnel. The game had gone.
But Watford’s players lingered to take the applause of their fans. There was much back-slapping and high fives as they wandered into the dressing room.
We get a player flash interview at every game, one that occurs straight after the final whistle. Deeney, who had scored his 100th league goal for Watford, was the player requested. He bounced into the interview room and spoke at length about the importance of the victory.
A few minutes later it was time to speak to the managers. Pulis is excellent at these interviews. It was a bad defeat but he fronted up and spoke in a controlled and calm manner, answering the questions courteously. He reveals no more than he wants to in these situations, always putting his players and the club first, but he doesn’t shy away or take umbrage in times of defeat.
Moyes hasn’t got such a mastery of the post-match interview. Whereas Pulis, who often storms about his technical area like a mad man during the game, can compartmentalise all that has gone on previously before entering the interview room, Moyes doesn’t exhibit the same composure.
It’s not easy. Before Moyes’ ill-chosen remarks he had been specifically asked whether or not he felt extra pressure on his job that day from the watching Sunderland chairman in the stands.
Who in society, other than football managers, are expected to make public pronouncements on the likelihood of being sacked from their job?
There are very few private places to gather thoughts, gain composure or release tension. The tunnel areas can be hectic highly charged environments. It takes a special skill to thrive there.