Aberdeen manager Barry Robson insists it will be “non-negotiable” that players give 100 per cent intensity and commitment at all times on his watch.
Robson insists that full-on attitude was at the core of what drove him as a player, to the extent it was “draining”.
He will demand his players also “give everything” under his management and reckons that approach will be fundamental to driving Aberdeen to success.
The Reds gaffer wants that intensity in matches and training- and for players to “live their life well” when away from the club.
Barry Robson’s demand of players has led to seven victories
Robson has led Aberdeen to seven straight victories to rise up to third in the Premiership table.
He warned there can be no drop in standards under his stewardship.
That winning form was rewarded when Robson, 44, and assistant Steve Agnew this week signed contracts to manage the Dons until at least the end of the 2024/25 season.
Robson said: “Do I demand? Yes. Do I expect things done right? Yes.
“Do I want my players to be disciplined? Yes.
“I’m not asking them to beat five players and put it in the top corner, I’m asking them to do things that we can all do.
“Just give us everything when you are on the training pitch and live your life well when you are off it.
“Be disciplined. If you do that, then you have much more chance of your talent coming out.
“That for me is a non-negotiable.”
‘I want my players to be driven’
Robson was appointed interim manager following the dismissal of Jim Goodwin on January 28.
He has overseen eight wins from his 10 games in charge to move five points clear in third spot.
Aberdeen were in the bottom six when Robson took over the management of the first team.
Since taking on the managerial role three months ago he has demanded the same commitment he delivered as a player.
Former Celtic and Middlesbrough midfielder Robson won the League Cup with Aberdeen in 2014.
When he retired from playing while at Pittodrie in 2016 he says it was a relief as he could finally drop his intensity.
It didn’t drop for long as he brought that same passion and desire when moving into youth coaching at Pittodrie.
Robson said: “When I was a player, I was really determined and driven.
“I want my teams and players to be driven.
“I want them to work hard because I knew I got success out of the game by doing that.
“To go and try and give 100 per cent all the time – it’s not easy.
“But if you’re a player and you want to think ‘I’m not feeling it’ then it’s easy to fall off a little bit.
“It takes real talent to focus and work to give that all the time.
“And it’s draining.
“That for me is what gives you every chance of being successful.
“That’s what I want from the players.
“The day I retired from football, it was a relief for me, because you put that much into it.
“It was all back on the next day when I became a coach, I had a day off.”
The demands of management
Robson was elevated from coaching the U18s as development phase manager into the first team role at the end of January.
He admits he brings the same intensity he had as a player to the management role.
To such an extent he will lie in bed at night going over the decisions he made that day – all in the pursuit of success.
He said: “When you are a player it is continuous as you go home at night and you need to eat right.
“Maybe some of your friends are going out for a curry on a Thursday night and you say ‘I can’t because I have a game’.
“You are thinking about your body and I always had to feel like I had to sleep really well to be at my maximum when I played.
“That is not as bad now as I can go and have a McDonalds with the kids now or I can go out for a meal now and again.
“I might have one tonight.
“But then the guilt is still in you because I always get up the next day and go for a run.
“That always stays with you, it’s a good thing but also a bad thing.
“It becomes in-built in you. It became in-built in me as a player.
“Now as a coach there are different demands.
“When I go home at night and I’m lying in my bed I’m thinking have I done enough today?
“Have I given the right message? Have we worked hard enough?
“That sits in your mind. Obviously, you also worry about if you have made the right decisions.
“You will get decisions right but you will also get ones wrong as well.
“And you can go to bed at night knowing you have done everything possible in your power.
“Then I can sleep.”
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