I’m not a manager. I’m a teacher of football - Paolo

Posted Thursday, April 04, 2013 by The Sun

I’m not a manager. I’m a teacher of football - Paolo
CAN DO ATTITUTDE ... new boss at training

PAOLO DI CANIO insists he does not want to be called Sunderland manager as he sets about saving the club from the drop.

The maverick Italian chose to take the title of head coach at the Stadium of Light because he considers himself to be a ‘teacher of football.’

He believes his strengths are on the pitch and has vowed to spend every second
at the club’s Cleadon training headquarters trying to get his message across to the players.

However Di Canio, 44, says he will aim to have some input into which players he wants chairman Ellis Short to sign this summer — once his primary objective of preserving the club’s top-flight status is assured.

West Ham legend Di Canio said: “I said to the board when they asked me if I wanted to be called manager that I prefer to work on the field. I am a coach, I am a teacher of football.

“I like to be with my players every single minute on the training field. I am not a typical manager who has an assistant doing the coaching for him. I work with my players every single second on the field, every single day of the week.

“It is not an issue if I am manager or not a manager. It’s what we decided to
write down, so we decided head coach because I feel like a coach.”

Di Canio’s budget for the close season will depend very much on whether he wins the fight against relegation.

Short has proved he is not afraid to dig deep for the right players, with the likes of Steven Fletcher and Adam Johnson arriving for a combined £24million last summer and another £5m splashed on Danny Graham in January.

Di Canio will have very clear views on who fits the bill and who does not — and intends to make them known to the owner in the summer.

He said: “When we are talking about signing footballers and for the system I am going to use, then obviously I will ask for the players I want and if it is possible, then I’ll hope to get them. I know how I want to play and what system I want to use.

“I want to play attractive football and get in a better position than we are.”

Di Canio admits he cannot understand how the club have sunk so low in the
Premier League — because he is sure the quality is there to get out of it.

He said: “I don’t know what has happened here but with the players we’ve got I can’t imagine why we are only one point above the relegation zone.

“It is obvious it was a shock to the players to see me. I have been in that situation as a footballer before.

“Maybe two or three players for instance will not be happy because they had a good relationship with the previous manager, that is natural. Others might be happier because they were not involved before.

“I had a chat with them on the first day for 20 minutes and then we had a really good session.

“They responded in a really good way with fantastic commitment. It is obvious we are going to change our philosophy.”