Tam Courts admits he couldn’t have lived with himself if he’d turned a deaf ear to the racism storm that brought his Honved adventure to a sudden end after just four months.
The former Dundee United boss shocked Scottish football when he left Tannadice in the summer to take on the fresh challenge at the fallen Hungarian giants. But it didn’t take long for Courts to realise he’d stepped out of his comfort zone in more ways than one.
Two racist incidents in his 14 games in charge - the second of which saw his final match held up for 10 minutes and Honved hit with a one-game fan ban - made his situation untenable. Courts famously held up a Show Racism the Red Card T-shirt to away supporters last season after Dundee United’s Jeando Fuchs claimed he’d been subjected to abuse after a game against Ross County. And he insists he could never have turned a blind eye after Zalaegerszeg’s Dutch coach Ricardo Moniz was subjected to monkey chants in Budapest last month.
The 41-year-old is now back home and undertaking his UEFA Pro Licence as he waits for the right opportunity to get back in the game. He has no regrets over his decision to swap Dundee for the banks of the Danube even if his tenure ended on a sour note after a 2-0 win over Zalaegerszeg.
Speaking to Record Sport he said: “It was the second incident I had been involved in and witnessed. That was the moment I realised that maybe it’s not the club and place for me to continue.
“Because I’ve taken a very public stand in the past it was probably the last thing that knocked the wind out of my stomach and my passion for continuing. I’ve watched the broadcast footage back and all I can hear is whistling.
“But the Zalaegerszeg head coach was remonstrating, adamant he had heard the abuse, and was trying to take his team off the pitch. He was a mixed-race guy that’s been in Hungary a long time and I assume his ear is a bit more tuned in to it.
“The ref sent him off but I intervened and said ‘this is a massive mistake red carding him’. It was like a watershed moment. The game was held up for 10 minutes because of the incident.
“I had already experienced one other incident of racism where one of our players was involved that only came to light in the aftermath. The club dealt with that one internally. Even though I never heard this second incident I couldn’t be a bystander.
“We had one player who I trusted deeply and after the game I asked him if he heard anything and he said there was monkey chants. That’s the moment travelling back on the bus I thought it wasn’t the right environment for me.
“I think it’s really important to stand up to these issues. If it doesn’t make you uncomfortable to be connected to situations like that then I think it says a lot about your morale compass. The Hungarian FA actually gave the opposition manager a four match ban.
“But they also made Honved play behind closed doors for a game so I suppose that’s a sense of progress. At least there’s an acknowledgment something happened.
“I’d made it known about my frustration levels at the incident. That triggered a conversation with the owners.
“The club had a couple of frustrations as well. Sixteen players had gone out, it’s a small competitive league just like Scotland, wins are not easy to come by. We had a zoom call and that’s when we agreed to part company.”
Courts had been headhunted by Honved, where his old colleague Chris Docherty is sporting director, due to his success at Tannadice where he returned Dundee United to European football while integrating youngsters into the first team.
The Hungarians fancied a slice of that and after a slow start there were signs his new-look side was starting to gel. The young boss was joined in Budapest by girlfriend Sammy and their baby Zac. But after just four months they were heading home despite winning his last two matches.
He said: “My eyes were wide open to the situation. I knew it would be a tough project. Sixteen players went out in the summer. We brought nine players in over pre-season. But only two of those did pre-season with us.
“The other seven were essentially unfit and we had to try and get them fit in live competition. We also integrated nine academy players into the first team.
“At Dundee United we played 16 young players through the season and finished in fourth. That takes everybody at the club to be aligned and everybody committed to the one vision.
“Maybe on reflection Honved looked at that and thought he can just come here and replicate that. But there’s so much that goes into it. You absorb their development journey and everyone needs to be committed to that.
“By the time I left we had only lost twice in nine games and had won our last two. We were three points off fifth. So there were a lot of things pointing towards the team being on an upward trajectory.”
Courts is adamant there’s no regret over his decision to leave Tannadice and insists he’s ready to jump back into management - so long as it’s the right club. He said: “There’s no regret. I felt the lure of challenging myself in a very complex environment was what I needed at that stage of my career.
“I wanted to go somewhere and really learn about myself and a different style of football. I’m really content with the decision I made. The next thing for me is making sure I choose the right people to work with.
“I love Scottish football, I love British football and I’m very open to learning abroad. I guess that means I’m pretty much open to anything.”
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