Losing the Dressing Room: Empty Cliché or a real-life Phenomenon? 10 Steps to control the Dressing Room!

Introduction:

In the world of football, there is a term that strikes fear into the hearts of managers: "Losing the Dressing Room." It refers to the moment when a manager or coach loses the respect, trust, and support of the players in the team.

It’s a dangerous time for any manager, in sport or in business.

In this blog, we will delve into the concept of losing the dressing room, explore its consequences, and discuss ways to prevent it from happening.

This article does not claim to be a scientific treatise. It’s based on personal perceptions, experiences and learnings.

Understanding "Losing the Dressing Room“:

"Losing the dressing room" occurs when the players no longer believe in or follow the instructions and tactics of the manager. It often manifests as a breakdown in communication, lack of motivation, and a decline in performance on the pitch. The harmony and unity that are vital for success are replaced by discord and discontent.

And then you will hear about the idea of „player power“ and that a team are ‘no longer playing for the manager’ - as if they would down tools, hoping that their boss gets the sacked.

An Empty Cliché or a real-life Phenomenon?

But in reality it isn’t like that. It’s certainly a fact that the locker room has a crucial importance and it is essential to building team chemistry, motivation and morale. A toxic sports team locker room is like a toxic workplace culture. No player likes the thought of returning to a locker room that is devoid of camaraderie and a lack of leadership.

Is it a cliche or real?

In my view it’s much more complex and to answer this question you have to dive deeper. If you lose games, everybody is starting to doubt. Fans, media, the board and in the worst case your players. Negativity is catching, like a virus.

Experts start judging even though they have no objective arguments. Even if they would have objective arguments, they would argue emotionally, because football is simply emotional and biased.

You will rarely find a cliche free analysis.

Understanding „Dressing Room Dynamics“:

What’s really going on in the dressing room? What is my experience?

Footballers can be selfish and a football club is always full of egos. Of course players do talk. In gym sessions, on coach trips or while running warm-up laps. But they firstly play for themselves, for their career. Not for a manager. And they don’t want to lose games.

We should be aware that the dressing room is a very sensitive, fragile and dynamic system.

But: Managers don't lose a dressing room because they never have full control of it in the first place. If you think you totally have it, then you are naive. If you start working for a club (f.e. your opening speech in front of your new team) you will find players who follow you at first, then players who are very neutral towards you and players who strongly doubt you. In principle, exchanges between the categories are always possible. You can win or lose trust of players. It is a more or less mobile and dynamic system, depending on what happens next. And you should be aware of this.

One further issues you’ve got is that there is no other industry in the world where, on the most important day of the week, over 50% of the workforce isn’t used for the big moment. The dilemma for a manager is that he can only pick 11 players out of 25 for the starting eleven and 7 for the bench. The remaining players are non selected. This sort of situation immediately creates instability.

Furthermore the locker room is a place of diversity. Many different personalities and cultural backgrounds collide. One statement can be interpreted in different ways, values or terms can be understood in various directions. That’s why clarity is very important.

There is a high importance for the manager to control the locker room and to keep the balance, even if he is rarely inside. It’s about winning respect, not absolute control, degrees of control…

10 Steps how to control the Dressing Room:

Maintaining a positive and healthy relationship with the players is crucial for any manager. Here are some ideas to create a winning locker room culture:

Spot the Signs: diagnose potentially toxic dynamics. The problems obviously start to arise when you lose games. But they are not coming overnight, they are also present before that, just hidden. They manifest themselves in indices such as indiscipline on and off the pitch, such as behaviours during substitutions or on the bench and much more. Also a big squad size can cause a lot of problems and you need to find solutions how to handle or reduce it, if possible.
Convey the „Why“: what is the overall vision, what drives us to go to work every day, what inspires us to perform at our best every day? For me it’s generally more about inspiring than motivating. Also in terms of the game idea, it is important for the players to understand the „why“ and not just the „what“ and the „how“. You have to earn the commitment of your players and then they will act with conviction.
Define the non-negotiable: be crystal clear in what you ask for, both tactically and in terms of certain rules as well as values.
Walk the Talk: you need do act in a way that agrees with the things you say and you need to lead by example. Otherwise you will lose credibility, step by step.
Effective Communication: regular and open communication is vital. Managers must listen to their players, address concerns, and provide clear instructions and feedback. It’s important to get the alpha players on your side and give the leaders the permission to lead
Atmosphere of Positivity: create a positive learning environment, in which everyone is also allowed to make mistakes. Don’t overload your players f.e. in team meetings (duration and content) or on the pitch. Don’t be too negative in analyzing games. Compliments and the recognition of good work are the most important aspects of a player’s performance.
Every decision, small or big, think how will it affect the Dressing Room: players want a manager to be honest, straight and logical. Especially when a manager is struggling to deliver results, many tend to make irrational decisions. You should be aware that every decision you make is evaluated by the players. And players want to be treated in the same way.
Breaking down the Cliques and Divisions: you probably face players from different nationalities and languages. It’s not unusual to have certain groups. Creating a strong team bond is essential. Team-building activities, maybe changing the seating arrangements at dinner, a sense of camaraderie, and encouraging players to support each other can help maintain a united dressing room.
Invest Time in your Players: try to build personal relationships with your players, show (honest) interest and try to understand the different backgrounds as well as cultures of your players.
Reflective and adaptive Leadership: reveal your blind spots as a leader and develop strategies to combat them. You also need a certain amount of adaptability. Recognizing and adapting to changing circumstances is important. Managers should be willing to adjust their tactics, strategies, and even their own approach if it benefits the team. In difficult times, a leader needs self-awareness and courage without losing his credibility.

Conclusion:

In this article I wanted to point out the importance of controlling the dressing room dynamics and how to keep the balance. Football is a very complex game. Many people are involved and football is a sport full of cliches. I mean, you cannot lose the dressing room, because you never own it. If you lose games, for sure there is some negativity and a lack of confidence in your team.

Of course there is no right or wrong in football. The locker room is a dynamic and mobile system. It can go either way, you can win back the control, maybe you can win time getting some more games in order to create the turnaround. Sometimes you won’t get the time. That’s the job reality.

But in stormy times you need the ability to find the right levers and you need to have tools to handle the problems. Don’t be a passenger! You need to have the steering wheel firmly in your hand.

I hope my considerations will be helpful to you. Please leave your comments. Thanks.