John Beale
· 1h ·
In an interview with Naver Sports, Paik Seung-ho extolled manager Chris Davies and credited him as the major reason he stayed at Birmingham:
Congratulations on your return from injury.
Paik: "Right now, I don't have the chance to play against a team like Newcastle. It was a really good opportunity when it happened...but I got injured before that, so I'm really upset. It was my first injury since coming to Birmingham, but I'm glad to be back."
Actually, today was the first time I've seen a League One game. They played well, didn't they?
Paik: "They've built the team up really well. Teams like Reading and Wigan, who definitely had names in League One, are solid. Wycombe (2nd place) and Wrexham (3rd place) are inherently physically strong and have a distinct style of play, so if the momentum shifts in the wrong direction, it's not easy."
I thought they were building up from the back even in the third division.
Paik: "Manager Chris Davies said from the beginning that we would play "build-up football." At the beginning of the season, even if fans booed because we lost the ball, he said, "It's okay because I told them to do it." We practiced build-up a lot. Now the players are gaining confidence. They know how to start, and they know the timing. The manager tells them, "Trust me and just do it," so the players gain confidence. At the beginning of the season, I also turned and lost the ball, but the manager applauded me. He said it was okay because I made a mistake while doing what he told me to do."
It felt like it was determined when and where the players should do what.
Paik: “That's the most comfortable part for us since Coach Davies came. We know what to do. Last season, I went into the game not knowing what to do. Nothing was set. This year, he figures out all the build-up positions depending on how the opponent plays. He even adjusts the movements, like if the opponent's so-and-so presses, I move to the side, so the players find it easier to play and their performance improves."
When I watched the game earlier, I saw that as soon as the ball crossed the halfway line, Baek Seung-ho moved completely to the far left. Was that kind of movement all planned beforehand?
Paik: "Exactly. The opponent was in a 5-4-1 formation, defending compactly in the center. Among the three center backs, the right defender marking me would go towards our left back, leaving me open. It's good if I receive a pass in the open space, and if the opponent's wing back comes out to mark me, our winger becomes free. I really like that there are things like this that are pre-arranged."
How would you compare it stylistically to the K-League?
Paik: "In the K-League, Gwangju plays that kind of well-organized football. When I was playing at Jeonbuk, playing against Gwangju was, how should I say it, really frustrating. Because the opponent is so well organized. Of course, there are teams in League One that utilize physically strong and fast players, but Birmingham is very different."
They say that Davies is a "workaholic."
Paik: "When I was at Girona B, I had a coach called "Chicho" from whom I learned a lot. He was a truly insane person. He was a Norwich coach, Stoke manager, and is now a West Ham coach. But someone even more extreme than him has come! There's nothing that's just done casually, whether it's the pre-game meeting or the training schedule. At first, the manager told the players, "There is really no one in the world who works as hard for you guys as I do. I'm really proud of that," and what he said was true. He's really, really passionate."
Did the manager's influence play a role in your decision to stay at Birmingham?
Paik: "Honestly, after being relegated, I thought I would definitely transfer. I felt like if I stayed here, I wouldn't be able to get national team call-ups. But in my first meeting with Manager Davies, he told me, "You're a really important player this year." He also said that he had offers from the Premier League. But he came to Birmingham because he wants to play winning football. The owner has changed now too, and the club's future is bright. He came because he wants to build a great team, and he wants me to be a part of that process. He asked me to trust him and stick with it. He said that to me. The manager helped me a lot with my contract renewal too."
It's solid tactically. Does that mean the training content is very different?
Paik: "It's not just different, it's completely different, from video meetings to everything else. He teaches us everything, like how the opponent builds up, what their patterns are in the halfway line, how we should position ourselves when we enter the final third, how to position ourselves for throw-ins, what to do for long throw-ins. He establishes all the fundamentals."
Paik: "Conversely, he teaches us everything about how we should attack when we have possession. The day before a game, we have a tactical meeting for about 30-40 minutes. Then, he films the tactical training with a drone and shows it to us again on the day of the game to refresh our memory. He's so detailed, so it's easy to play the game. I know how to press, who to follow, and where I should be."
Actually, Manager Davies has no professional experience. I think it's not easy for a manager without a name in England to gain the trust of the players.
Paik: "That kind of thing exists here too. Manager Davies is even working as a manager for the first time at Birmingham. People around him were worried, saying, "They've appointed someone with no prior experience as the first manager of a team aiming to be promoted to the Championship." But after the players trained with him, they realized he's not just any manager. Honestly, I don't know if this manager will stay at Birmingham for long. I think he'll go to a really good place. I even think he's good enough to coach the Korean national team in the future."
You've met a manager who suits you well in many ways.
Paik: "Actually, until now, I thought I would retire and never do anything like coaching. No, I just wanted to leave the football world. But while working with Manager Davies, that thought changed. Football seems so fun. So I started writing a training diary again. I write down everything I did with the manager."
What is the scale of Birmingham's staff?
Paik: "It's bigger than the number of players. First of all, there's a resident doctor at the club, and there are 6-7 trainers alone. There are two nutritionists and two video analysts. There's the manager, and then five coaches. Tom Huddlestone, who played for Tottenham, works as a set-piece coach. If you include the other support staff, it's about 30 or 40 people."