Hate is an edge Jesse Marsch has looked for in the managers he faces in the dugout, but the ‘shared misery’ of coaching in the Premier League has made it difficult to find that animosity. The Leeds United head coach is preparing to visit Watford and Roy Hodgson, the oldest manager in Premier League history, on Saturday.
There is deep-seated respect from Marsch for what the 74-year-old has achieved in his career and he expects there will be the typical post-match debrief at Vicarage Road, in line with what he has already experienced in his time here. While Staffordshire native Adrian Heath set the tone for Marsch in the United States for after-game customs in the UK, the American has had to begrudgingly accept the niceties can be quite rewarding despite the desire to dislike and beat his opposite number.
Ralph Hasenhuttl and Brendan Rodgers had similar offerings for Marsch in his first few games, but that handshake misstep made matters a little icy with Dean Smith. Asked about the environment between managers in the top flight, he said: "I would say congenial, maybe too congenial for me, but I appreciate the manager, the respect, I call it a shared misery and the respect for that shared misery in England is pretty strong.
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“We had Adrian Heath in the US, he coached at Orlando and then he coached in Minnesota, and he was always really good after the match to say 'come and have a beer' and I hesitantly did it, but found it incredibly rewarding. I want to acknowledge the work other people do. I do respect and appreciate the work other people do in this business.
“It's hard for me to be friendly with competitors because in my mind I want to not like them, but when I wind up liking them usually the respect grows, but I like the motivation when I am driven to want to beat someone. Like I said with Ralph Hasenhuttl, my respect for him is so high and when we play against him.
“I never want the players to feel the personal situation between me and the coach. I certainly feel the competitive juices on those days.
“Certainly, I had a really nice talk with Ralph Hasenhuttl after the match, Brendan Rodgers was very generous with some time after the match. Dean Smith was mad at me for not shaking his hand so we didn't spend as much time after the match, but in general, I know the level of respect for the managerial work in this country is so high, so it's nice to be a part of that."
