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Wenger - My advice to new managers

Arsene Wenger says that creating a unified working environment is absolutely essential for new managers.

The Frenchman is approaching his 20th anniversary at Arsenal, and is the longest-serving boss in European football.

Wenger has helped a number of aspiring young managers, and says there are a number of factors they must take into consideration if they are to succeed.

“I think in our job, at the start the most important thing is to have a positive attitude towards human beings,” he said.

“You have to be an optimist about human nature because if you don’t have that, you can quickly become paranoid, no matter how good you are at football or how good your tactical knowledge is.

“It’s very important that you are positive about human nature because you have ups and downs and what supports your positive philosophy is always thinking, ‘These guys will do well’.

“I always advise [new managers] to check the environment they will go into, to check that they have clear contracts where their responsibilities are very clearly defined. This is a job where you need to be very strong. If your contracts are not well done and the definition of your responsibilities are not clear, you can come under bad influences inside the club.

“Football is different if you are united at a club. If you are disjointed in the club, you have no chance. So you need to make sure that your environment is right and that you take care of that environment and the people that work with you on a daily basis.

“Be strong in your beliefs and of course be strong when the disappointments come. Part of this job is to survive disappointments - you cannot make a career without any big disappointments.

“That’s where you’re tested, when you have to see how well you recover, how quickly you get the team back on track after massive disappointments.”