Rochdale AFC appointed Ian Watson as new head coach on a three-year contract in the summer.
Ian, who hails from the North East, is a highly regarded coach who has earned recognition for his progressive football philosophy, player development, and leadership qualities.
Following a playing career as a fullback, his senior coaching career began in 2019.
Ian describes his start at the club as having been “amazing”. He said: “The energy I have felt throughout the club has been perfect for me; I thrive on that energy. I have built relationships with people inside the club quickly and that’s really important for me.”
With a number of new players having been recruited, speaking about the balance of the squad he said: “There is always going to be a turnover when you go into a new league, you are looking to improve, coupled with the fact that I am new to the club, a change of management, a change of coaches.”
He added: “Behind the scenes the football club have been amazing, working relentlessly to make sure we get the right players for Rochdale.”
Ian brings a particular football philosophy to the club which he explained means: “I like my teams to run a lot, to play with a lot of energy. I like having the ball and working the ball in certain situations to try and attack. With the ball we want to progress it and try and get our players in the best areas possible to give them the chance to create and score goals.
“That’s what I love about the game, trying to attack, and if we lose the ball we create a lot of energy and we counter press, and if we can’t get the counter press we run back.
“Out of possession we have to show we are aggressive and we are not a soft touch to play against, that’s what we have worked on a lot.”
Asked what his target is for this season, Ian said: “I don’t have a target, I just try to be present in everything that we are doing. My job is to focus on the now, if you start putting targets on things you can miss what’s right in front of you. I need to make sure training sessions are perfect and that the players are willing to work as hard as they possibly can, and with that I think the sky is the limit for the group.”
