Narcis Pelach opens up on his biggest challenge at Stoke City, pressure and priorities.
Narcis Pelach is excited to be appointed new Stoke City head coach but knows that comes with great responsibility
Narcis Pelach has had a busy week, leaving Norwich to take on his first head coach’s job in England and try to become the man to bring success and stability back to Stoke City. He sat down with the local media to discuss what he has taken on, his ambitions and expectations.
What will be the biggest challenge?
Narcis Pelach: The largest obstacle will be maintaining performance because the Championship only happens
once every several days. Two different approaches to handling this scenario are to live it as a number two and as a
number one, respectively. This is my main interest. My mind is attempting to arrange something that isn’t solely
dependent on me. The staff members have duties to ensure that each employee completes their work each day.
I speak on behalf of the individual who organised this, of course, but this kind of stuff is for all of us. The club and
Jonny Walters want to move in that direction—a collaborative one where we feel like we’re a part of the process. I am
in agreement with you. Let’s attempt to finish this.
How difficult is it to hit the ground running?
It has been difficult to set everything in place over the past two days, but to be honest, it is just the play style we
support, so nothing will change. It’s a straightforward issue that I’ve been thinking a lot about and believe in.
Naturally, we haven’t had a preseason, but that’s just an excuse, so I don’t want to talk about it. I can’t change the
fact that there is a game (on Friday night) and we have to compete and figure out a way to do it.
You’ve talked about the importance of style of play – what is that style?
There must be versatility in the style.Something that competes in every way, in my opinion, is what best describes
me. You’re just teaching one of them, therefore I don’t want to see something that is great in one phase and awful in
another. That is not what I want to be associated with; I want to be associated with a competitive team. While we
haven’t been great in any area, we go to games and make sure to stay in them, we find a way to get points, and we are
good in defence, attack, and defensive transition.
Jon did a very, very good job in the transfer window, in my opinion. Unfortunately I couldn’t affect it because I was
not here but all the decisions they made, in my opinion, seeing it from the outside, I rate because it makes us go in
one clear direction. We are going to create something that is bigger than one individual and that is very important.
Do you need to ask for a little bit of patience from supporters?
No, I’m not interested in making any requests. I told the players that we must earn the privilege and that we can do
so by demonstrating our attitude, our passion for the team, and our interest in each and every game. We can offer;
we are not in a position to request. This is the way we should be thinking. Let us conduct ourselves in a way that
demonstrates our desire to succeed, compete, and project strength and stability by deeds rather than words.
What does a productive day look like for you?
I enjoy heading to the training field every morning because I am aware of the schedule and the amount of work that needs to be completed. We also have to get ready for the players so they can understand what we will be teaching and why before training begins. Following the conference, we practise and gain experience by going to the training pitch. My theory is that in order to increase your chances of winning, you should observe, act, and then reflect.
Do you thrive on the pressure you will find yourself in as head coach of a club like Stoke City?
Now, I’m not feeling it. I’m merely attempting to adjust to my new position. I put pressure on myself because I have high aspirations. Even when I was coaching under-14s, I always believed I could achieve my goal of being where I am now. Though the pressure came from within, I thought I could pull it off. You people have no idea what you have in the group. It’s incredible.
What did you ask Bojan and Marc Muniesa and what did they tell you?
My question to them was that I needed to know how they felt playing for Stoke, how was their day-by-day if they remembered Stoke as one of the best places they have worked, their social life as well, how did their family feel.
Both of them when I was asking questions and they started to talk, it wasn’t an interview it was just a chat, they started to remember people. That’s when my brain clicked and I said I’m coming here, maybe influenced by them both, and I’m feeling very comfortable, I’m really happy to be part of it and Bojan and Muni did the same.
Is that the DNA you want to see back at Stoke?
Yes. John Coates and Jon Walters explained to me what the club is about and I don’t think you could find two men who could live and love the club more. They want the club to be strong in terms of connections, to come to the building every day and find people to work with, people who want to work hard. I’m not saying that you didn’t have that – but I’m mentioning where the club wants to go and I think I represent that.
What was the final bit of the jigsaw that made you say that Stoke was going to be your club?
The size of the club. I have had people on the phone congratulating me for the job and on the other side I feel responsibility because this is a big club with a nice and big history that I want to learn more about. I feel excitement, it’s true, but trust me that I feel responsible as well. I want this to be something long. I want to earn the right to be a Championship manager, which I don’t feel I am now. I need to oversee 100 games and then you are a manager, that’s how I see it.
Indeed. We have a few young, gifted athletes to deal with, and we need to do a number of things with them using the appropriate programs to ensure that they develop at the proper rate—not too quickly nor too slowly. Although there are certain players we can work with and will hopefully see them eventually, overall this is a young team with some promising talents. I’m rather pleased with Stoke City’s team. I have faith in what I own. Since they support me and I’m there to work with them to improve, I don’t want any players to go.
You’ve got to the championship play-offs twice as a coach. What is the secret to getting there?
When it came to being the underdogs the entire season, the first experience at Wembley was excellent. We were meant to be battling for relegation. We didn’t have much money or a big budget, but over time we managed to build something amazing. However, it was due to all of us and not the coaches. During that point in our careers, you were constantly thinking about today. After that, we have a win, another win, a draw, a draw, a win, and so on.
We had a far better squad the previous season, and we were under more obligation to perform. But the league is challenging. Hull City also came very close to winning it the previous season. However, Leeds United outperformed us in the second half.
Can you tell us a little bit about the staff coming with you?
Dean Whitehead is an excellent coach, so I’m glad to have him here. In addition to being a wonderful person and a skilled football player, he is eager to give the football team his best. He’s an excellent addition.
This diligence is also embodied by Paul Clements. He’s had to battle his way up to the goalkeeping position he currently holds. One of my favourite things about him is that he’s a hungry man. More is what he want. He want employment in both the Champions League and the Premier League. He is dreaming. I feel a lot of energy coming from it.
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