Graham Alexander had his 500th day as Motherwell manager last week.
Not much to shout about really is it – 16 months in the Fir Park dugout. But when you consider only 13 managers in Scotland have been at their clubs longer, it highlights the precarious nature of a profession where results determine the longevity of
Alexander and those like him.
The 50-year year knows this only too well. He was sitting fifth in the league with Salford when Gary Neville swung the axe and replaced him with Paul Scholes in October 2020.
That experience, and a lifetime in football, gave the ex-Scotland right back a healthy sense of perspective when Motherwell were in danger of undoing a strong start to the season with a horror run after Christmas that saw them drop out of the top six – only to bounce back to make the top half in the final minute of last game before the split.
Well went on to finish fifth and grab a Europa Conference League qualifying spot and will learn their fate at the draw on June 15.
European football seemed a million miles away when he took over from Stephen Robinson with Well bottom in January 2021. And it must have seemed well out of reach when his team couldn’t buy a win in the 12 league games after the winter break.
That run of form might have been drifting into sacking territory at some clubs but Alexander is adamant he had no sleepless nights. He said: “What we’ve achieved this season with the competition we are up against and the budget we have is superb.
“We have a rich history at this level but we’re a different club than we were in the past. Our budget is tight and that won’t change going forward.
“Anything we do on the pitch that’s above what is expected deserves credit. I know when we were going through the tough patch in the New Year it wasn’t something we were happy about but it was almost as if the first 20 games didn’t exist.
“No one had given us a Willy Wonka gold ticket to get into the top six. We’d won the points, scored the goal to get ourselves there. It made me angry to be honest as I didn’t think we got the credit we deserved.
“I understand the criticism when we were in that period of bad results, I’d no issue with it, but it was when people questioned our position in the top six. I wasn’t happy with that and it was as if, 20 games, which is a big chunk of the season, didn’t count.
“I know the world we live in now, everyone lives in the now and they don’t look at the big picture. I was trying to keep everyone balanced pre-Christmas when people were talking about Europe and what we could achieve. I said where we were was just a points tally and where we finished was what counted.”
But surely in the current hire ’em-fire ’em, climate Alexander did have moments of uncertainty over his future? He said: “We got every assurance from chairman Jim McMahon and chief executive Alan Burrows during that bad run.
“They believed in me and what we had done previously. But I understand in football things can change in the modern game.
“I came to work and I never feared anything in football. The only things I fear in life are things happening to my family. I was sacked in my last job when I was fifth in the league and undefeated – but as they say, sh*t happens.
“I’ve had a career full of knockbacks and disappointments but I’m still fighting and winning and competing. That will never change.
“I know we will have disappointments as my career continues but that’s life. But you lie down and die or live in fear or get on with it and that’s what I do.
“I love this job and I get strength from how myself and the team have overcome the setbacks. That’s just as rewarding as anything else.
“You get success and it’s all been plain sailing and you’re buzzing. But when I look back at my playing career, I lost play-off finals and missed a penalty in a play-off.
“But you come back for more and that makes me prouder than anything. My career is littered with failures and defeats but I’ve had successful times as well.
“I got better and stronger from the negative times and it showed me something about my character or my team.
“When you’re being criticised and things aren’t going your way, little margins keep knocking you down. But we kept getting up and that was great that we have the characters to do that.”
The next 500 days will be just as full of highs and lows for Alexander. The only certainty is he’s up for the challenge.
