Ian Cathro believes Michael Beale ’s bold bolt for Brazil shows he has the inner strength and conviction needed to make big decisions in the Rangers hotseat. He should know.
The former Hearts boss has spent much of his own coaching career facing up to fresh challenges with the courage to tackle tough tasks abroad. And while Cathro did not enjoy success at Tynecastle in his first shot at frontline management, he won’t rule out stepping back up into a top job himself if the right opportunity arises.
Six months on from stepping out of Steven Gerrard ’s backroom team at Aston Villa to take the QPR job, Beale is now at the Ibrox helm. It’s a huge opportunity, which some critics feel has been afforded too soon to the Londoner. Cathro, though, admires his path to Rangers. Beale’s massive decision to leave a job at Liverpool to go to Sao Paulo in Brazil and work as assistant to Rogerio Ceni was one the Scot could understand and admire.
Cathro did the same thing a decade ago when heading to Rio Ave in Portugal to work alongside Nuno Espirito Santo. Having learned to cope in a new environment, he sees similarities in what Beale did.
Cathro said: “I know a little bit of his background. One of the things that caught my attention was he went and worked abroad for a period of time.
"That’s something I certainly relate to. It’s admirable because it’s not easy to do, especially when there’s a different language involved. People who make decisions like that are generally pretty strong people on the inside because that’s harder than going from one job to another in England or going from London to the north east.
“It’s a bigger upheaval, so it’s a bigger decision to make. You have to be capable of making pretty big decisions when you expose yourself to that.
“I admire people who make those decisions. I wish him well. I hope it goes well.”
After a stellar youth coaching career in Scotland before Rio Ave, Cathro was assistant at Valencia and Newcastle before moving into the top role at Tynecastle six years ago. Things did not pan out as hoped but there’s no regrets as Cathro, now in Saudi Arabia, said: “I reflect on it as something I am very grateful for.
“My period at Hearts was something that was part of the big rollercoaster I have experienced. I don’t know many people who get to go through all of those things I’ve been through and still be able to sit at 36 and have made peace with things you need to make peace with, taken lessons from things you need to take lessons from.
“I don’t specifically mean Hearts, I mean everything. Even before that, I was someone who was so driven and so focused. I was always living in the future. That probably had a detrimental effect on so many different parts of my life.
“It’s only as time goes on and you have conversations with people who have a little bit more wisdom than you that you realise the importance of not living in the future or past. That was six years ago – six years is a long time.
"I have completely moved on and I’m focused on going forward... just not too far forward. Edinburgh is home, I love being there. But most of my football connections are elsewhere.”
Since Tynecastle, Cathro has been reunited with Nuno at Wolves then Spurs and the pair are now with Al-Ittihad in Jeddah. The 36-year-old has learned never to rule anything out. He doesn’t know what the future holds but being the No.1 again is on the agenda as he said: “That has never, ever changed. It’s stupid to look too far and rule something in or out. The future will be the future.
“With the fortune of good health, the vast majority of my career I expect to be as a head coach. I’m no longer in a rush in my life. That gives me comfort to live in the moment and look forward in a calm way, knowing the vast majority of my career is ahead of me.
“I have been doing this for 20 years and I am aware I’ve done a lot and experienced a lot. The last 10 has more or less been at the top level – big highs, big lows, challenges all over the place. The game has become far too all encompassing to be the responsibility of one person.
“With respect to the old-school idea of a manager who maybe doesn’t go on to the pitch every day, stays away and deals with some other aspects, that will never be me because my first love is being on a pitch and working with players.”
But, asked if he wants to be the guy picking the team again, Cathro said: “That’s what a head coach does. Definitely.”
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