He looked around and realized that his teammates from last season did not seem to be surprised by the situation in front of them. Instead, they were grinning as they looked toward the locker room with the manager. The only ones who were as puzzled as him were the "newcomers" who had just transferred over this summer.
Looks like they're all familiar with the new manager … He greeted everyone with a smile on his face and seemed to be quite amiable. Maybe he'll be easy to get along with … Maybe.
Just as Rebrov was speculating about Tang En, the last member of the team, Gareth Taylor, ran out from inside.
Seeing him, Walker pressed the stopwatch to stop and passed it to Tang En.
Tang En took it and looked at the time displayed on it: five minutes and forty-nine seconds. As he tossed the stopwatch back, he muttered to Walker, "Even women change faster than him."
Walker shrugged. He was already used to Taylor's procrastination. No matter how many times he said it, it was useless. If he was not allowed to train or punish him, Collymore would say, "Oh, God! I was often like this when I was playing. As long as he could score goals, who cares if he needs ten minutes or ten hours to change? "Eventually, the disheartened Walker simply did not care anymore.
Taylor lowered his head and was still fastening his belt when he walked out. He clearly did not see Tang En and Walker standing beside him. Seeing that he was about to walk over with his head lowered, a low roar of laughter rang out in the training ground.
Tang En turned back to look at them, and the laughter immediately stopped. Walker called out to the last person.
"Taylor."
Hearing someone call him, Taylor finally raised his head. When he saw the two people standing in front of him, he immediately realized that he might be out of luck.
Assistant manager Des Walker and an unfamiliar man. They both had the same expression on their faces — a straight face without a hint of a smile.
"Uh, what's the matter, Manager?"
Walker did not speak, but the unfamiliar man beside him spoke. "Gareth Taylor, transferred from Burnley at the beginning of this season for a transfer fee of 550,000 pounds. Representing Forest in 17 rounds of the league tournament and three cup competitions, scoring ten goals and one assist. These numbers are not too bad. "
Taylor did not understand what this man was trying to do. He could only stand there and remain silent.
"But you've come to the wrong place." Tang En pointed to the northeast. Behind a row of trees and barbed wire, there was a training ground. "You should be training at the fourth training ground."
"What?" Taylor thought he had misheard.
Tang En nodded affirmatively. "Congratulations, Mr. Taylor. From now on, you're a member of the reserve team. "
Not to mention Taylor's shocked expression, even Walker did not expect Tang En's solution to be like this. After hearing about the general situation in the locker room, this new manager decided to put changing the locker room's atmosphere as the top priority of his work.
"Why?" Taylor was anxious. He knew that the man in front of him who spoke with a straight face was the new manager. "Why did you send me to Team Two?"
"Because you're much better than Team Three." Twain shrugged and turned to walk to the training ground, ignoring the poor guy who was late.
This answer stunned Taylor for a moment. He looked at Tang En's back and then at his teammates on the field. Just a moment ago, they had gathered in twos and threes and chatted happily, looking like they were watching a good show. Now, they were quickly gathering together. They were lining up!
He suddenly realized that the days where he could sleep an hour later every night and sleep an extra hour in the morning were gone forever …
Walker followed behind Tang En and whispered the worry in his heart, "Tony, I'm worried about you. "Tony, I know you want to rebuild the team's discipline, but isn't this too simple and crude? Although Taylor is slow in doing things, he's still the team's top striker. He played a big part in us making it to the quarterfinals of the EFL Cup … "
Tang En looked at the players who had consciously stood in two rows on the training ground in front of him and smiled. He then turned to Walker and said, "Des. Now, I need to let them understand that the only person in this team that can't be missing … is me. "
Then, he strode to the group of players who had already become obedient.
"The earliest among you was late by 47 seconds." Tang En raised both his hands and used his right hand to point to the watch on his left wrist. "The last person to come out was one minute and thirty-two seconds. I don't care why you were late. Even if you say it was because you were shaving your legs in the locker room, it has nothing to do with me. I only know that you were collectively late for training by one minute and thirty-two seconds! "He shouted loudly. "I don't care how the previous manager trained you. I'm the manager now, your boss! I'm going to let you know the importance of team discipline. Anyone who breaks the rules will be punished! "
He looked at the silent players and then pointed to the side of the field.
"One lap every ten seconds. Thirteen laps. I even gave you a discount of two seconds. Alright, now all of you run! Double for those who are lazy! "
The players, who had long expected the result, did not object. They all ran to the side of the field with their heads down and started the first lap of the thirteen laps.
Rebrov turned his head to look at the man who had turned to talk to the assistant manager and obediently ran behind his teammates.
This manager is completely different from Collymore …
After about a week of observation, Tang En was very satisfied with the situation of the team's training. In fact, with Walker around, the team's training schedule had never been a problem. The key was that there was no one to restrain the players and tell them that they had to follow the rules. Collymore had let the players be, just like he had let himself be. He had tasted the consequences. Tang En was not as foolish as him.
He had already used his actions to tell the group of undisciplined and free players the first time they met: I'm the boss here. Who doesn't want to work here? Taylor is the role model. He must have been very lonely in the reserve team and could not wait for someone to accompany him.
Of course, Tang En had his own sense of propriety. After killing the "chicken" Taylor, the team's performance satisfied him, so he did not raise the stick again.
During training, he rarely expressed his views. Everything was like last season, with him watching from the sidelines. Walker and the other members of the coaching staff were in charge of the training. Tang En was very satisfied with their work. Since he had decided to leave the training to the coaching staff, and he had already discussed and approved the training plan, it would be disrespectful to the work of the coaching staff if he continued to criticize them. This was exactly what Tang En hated the most.
He only needed to let the players know of his existence. So, he stood at the side of the field, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses. He looked as cool as Keanu Levis from "The Matrix."
The media had two diametrically opposed views regarding Tang En's appointment.
The foreign media were not optimistic about Tang En's coaching prospects. Nottingham Forest's goal for this season was not to be promoted, but to avoid relegation. But for a youth team manager who had taken over the team in a hurry, faced with morale that was as low as the Nottingham Forest Football Club's stock price, faced with a locker room that was in a state of panic and could not unite, and led a team that was about to bid farewell to two of its main players during the winter break — the news that Michael Dawson and Andy Reid would be transferring to Tottenham Hotspur during the winter break had already been announced. This caused the fans to be dissatisfied with the club's top management and the manager at the time, Collymore. But as mentioned before, no one could change any of Evan Doughty's decisions — completing the task of avoiding relegation might be too difficult.
In response to this statement, the local media in Nottingham refuted it. Pierce Brosnan wrote an article in the Nottingham Evening Post applauding the decision of the club's board of directors to change managers.
"… If we say that the bad atmosphere in the locker room and the team's low morale are reasons to not be optimistic about him, could it be that the Forest team that Mr. Tang took over on the 3rd of January this year had a good atmosphere in the locker room, high morale, and unity? What were the results of last season? We fought our way from 14th place to the play-offs. We were the team that improved the most in that season's rankings … I share the same opinion as many Forest fans: If there's anyone who can lead this Forest team well now, it's definitely Tony Twain! "
Tang En was very grateful to Brosnan for speaking up for him, but he knew very well in his heart that whether or not he could lead this team well was not up to any media. The only evidence that could convince people was the results — the results of leading a team. If they won, it would be considered as leading well. If they lost, it would be considered as not leading well.
Next, Nottingham Forest would welcome their direct competitor to avoid relegation at home — Crystal Palace, who were ranked third from the bottom.
This was a tough battle.
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