Tim Jotischky is Divisional Managing Director, Reputation, at The PHA Group, writing for Insider Sport. He shares his extensive history within sports media and how Manchester United Manager Ruben Amorim’s recent comments may be viewed upon by the club board and players. 

As communications advisors, we often tell clients that they should be honest and transparent in their public statements. However, Ruben Amorim, the Manchester United manager, has posed an interesting question: Can you be too honest as a leader?

After a bruising home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion, he labelled his players “the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United”. The following week he claimed he would put a 63-year goalkeeping coach on the substitutes’ bench rather than select erstwhile star striker Marcus Rashford. At other times, he has accused his players of being scared during matches.

It is worth noting that the pressure on Premier League managers to perform media duties is immense and out of all proportion to anything he had experienced in Portuguese football, a fact he readily acknowledged.

I recall briefly performing a media role for former Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson on matchdays and it was an eye opener – even for me as a former sports editor. Within 20 minutes of the final whistle, the manager had to front up for an interview with the primary contractual rights holder; this was quickly followed by interviews with secondary and overseas rights holders; then the remaining broadcast journalists; then, it was on to the press conference; and, after a Saturday match, a follow-up with journalists writing for Monday’s papers.

It’s little wonder that after a painful defeat managers often say things they later regret. But Amorim knew what he was doing, telling journalists: “I know you want headlines…here you go: your headlines.”

To consider whether it was effective, we need to ask who the message was aimed at. Was he sending a message to the players, trying to shame them into better performances? Was he speaking to the supporters, trying to show he was aware of the club’s rich history? Or was he appealing to the board to give him money in the transfer market?

His intended audience was probably a mixture of all three, but the overarching message was: “I’m the new guy in town, I know how bad things are and how hard it’s going to be to turn it around”. To an extent, it was the classic kitchen sinking tactics of a new CEO taking over an under-performing public company – or a Chancellor, ridiculing the performance of her predecessor.

Being honest is easiest when you are new in a job and not responsible for the legacy you have inherited– a reputation for straight talking builds trust and forges a positive reputation. But it’s also a one-way street. Once you have earned a reputation for telling it like it is, it’s hard to perform a U-turn; every time you dissemble your remarks will be deconstructed, every evasion will be analysed.

As a football manager, you also need to think about your relationship with the players. When you have publicly humiliated them, will they still be willing to fight for you? Players often respect managers who might castigate them privately, but remain steadfastly loyal in public. 

Another Premier League manager charmed journalists and supporters alike with his straight-talking honesty when he arrived at Tottenham Hotspur last season: Ange Postecoglou. But after a run of dire results he became a shadow of his former self, snapping at reporters and sending distress signals from the touchline.

Football is a brutal business; results dictate everything. But in football, as in any business sector, a leader has to be consistent in how they communicate. Honesty is often the best policy, but it’s rarely the easy option.

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