Justin Cochrane’s return to Spurs: He’ll plan training, but do more than just put the cones out

Sports

add

The main reason nearly a week passed between Tottenham Hotspur sacking Ange Postecoglou and announcing Thomas Frank as his successor was because negotiations with Brentford over the Dane’s backroom staff had dragged on.

Everybody had assumed Claus Norgaard would accompany Frank across London. After Brian Riemer left Brentford in December 2022 to become Anderlecht’s head coach, Norgaard arrived as Frank’s second in command. The pair had known each other since 2007 when Frank taught Norgaard on a coaching course run by Danish football’s governing body (DBU). They worked together with Denmark’s youth teams before Norgaard supported Frank during his three years in charge of Brondby.

Frank could not take all of his assistant coaches with him to Tottenham, and he prioritised poaching someone else.

Justin Cochrane joined Brentford’s first-team set-up in June 2022 after leaving his role as head of player development and coaching in Manchester United’s academy.

Cochrane and Frank during their time at Brentford (Andrew Matthews/Getty Images)

Senior figures at Brentford liked the idea of grooming Cochrane to be Frank’s long-term successor. What they did not anticipate was the 43-year-old following Frank to Spurs, along with head of athletic performance Chris Haslam and analyst Joe Newton.

The fact Brentford were so disappointed to have lost Cochrane is an indication of exactly how good a coach Spurs have just added to their staff…

Brentford were one of only four teams in the Premier League last season to have three players reach double figures for goals. Bryan Mbeumo led the way with 20, Yoane Wissa was close behind on 19, while Kevin Schade scored 11 times.

Mbeumo’s haul came from an expected goals (xG) total of 12.3, which means he massively overperformed. During the 2021-22 season, Brentford’s first in the top flight, the Cameroon international only scored four goals from an xG of 9.3. Cochrane can take some credit for helping him to become more clinical.

Cochrane planned training sessions at Brentford. He would design drills around the tactical set-up of their next opponent or based on what skills he felt individuals needed to improve. Along with Frank, he mainly focused on the attacking unit. It was their duty to push Mbeumo, Wissa and Schade to a higher level with regular finishing drills.

Frank assigns each of his assistants with around six players to look after. They are responsible for analysing that individual’s performances and discussing areas of improvement. They are encouraged to have conversations about their personal lives, too. It was Norgaard’s idea to convert Keane Lewis-Potter from a winger into a left-back. Despite playing in an unfamiliar position, Lewis-Potter was one of Brentford’s most consistent performers last season. Lewis-Potter was one of the players Cochrane looked after and he helped the 24-year-old to adapt.

When you know, you know @justincochrane8 🔮 pic.twitter.com/ayRFtg4bg7

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) May 17, 2024

“Justin has done very well for us here,” Frank said at a press conference in April. “He came in with responsibility for the offensive part of the game, giving input to myself, the coaching staff and the players around everything from build-up to phase two to phase three and the breakthroughs. He’s been a big part of that, planning the training week, and developing individual players. He’s developed very well the last couple of years.”

There are loads of other examples of Cochrane making small adjustments which have a positive impact. When Brentford beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 in April 2023, Josh Dasilva came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner. Dasilva’s trademark finish was a curling left-footed shot towards the far corner but he surprised goalkeeper Keylor Navas by aiming for the near post. Cochrane pushed Dasilva to add variety to his strikes.

“I was just saying to Justin, we worked on that (finish) yesterday (in training),” Dasilva told Brentford’s website. “I always go far post and yesterday the mannequin was set in a way where I couldn’t go far post and I had to go near post.”

During his time with Manchester United, Cochrane crossed paths with future England international Kobbie Mainoo and Argentina’s Alejandro Garnacho. They both started United’s 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest in the 2022 FA Youth Cup final and Garnacho scored twice. Cochrane encouraged Garnacho to avoid constantly chopping inside onto his stronger right foot to shoot. The winger scored United’s third goal in stoppage time by cutting onto his right before going back towards the left to trick the defender. Garnacho’s left-footed shot took a deflection and ricocheted past Forest’s goalkeeper Aaron Bott. One small piece of advice from Cochrane helped him to become less predictable.

Brennan Johnson was the only player to reach double digits for Spurs in the top flight last season, with 11. It feels likely that Cochrane will try and help Tottenham’s attackers to become more efficient in the opposition box.

Cochrane started his coaching career as a teenager in Queens Park Rangers’ academy when he set up a grassroots team for local children under the age of 10. Cochrane only made one appearance for QPR before he went on to represent Crewe Alexandra and a variety of non-League sides including Boreham Wood, Aldershot Town and Hayes & Yeading United. He grew up in north London but played internationally for Antigua & Barbuda.

Before he retired, Cochrane started volunteering in Tottenham’s academy at 27. He worked under Chris Ramsey and John McDermott, alongside Matt Wells and two future Premier League managers in Kieran McKenna and Scott Parker. He crossed paths and learned from Mauricio Pochettino too.

McDermott spent over a decade with Spurs before he joined the Football Association in March 2020 and he played a role in Cochrane becoming part of Thomas Tuchel’s backroom staff with England earlier this year. Cochrane will continue to help Tuchel in the build-up to and at next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada alongside his duties with Spurs.

Cochrane on England duty at Wembley in March (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

Cochrane oversaw the development of future England internationals Kyle Walker-Peters and Noni Madueke in his first spell at Spurs, as well as Dane Scarlett, Oliver Skipp and Marcus Edwards. Scarlett made 22 appearances on loan at Oxford United in the first half of last season before he returned to Spurs. The 21-year-old scored in a 3-0 victory over Elfsborg in the Europa League but only played five times in total. Perhaps Cochrane’s influence could help him to become more established in the first-team squad.

Cochrane has spoken in interviews about the importance of the ‘Vibe Scale’ which, despite sounding like an R&B song from the 1990s, is actually his way of recognising what the squad needs at the beginning of each day and reacting accordingly to their emotional, physical and mental states. Cochrane has worked in academies, in first-team environments and at international level so he understands how to connect with players who have different levels of experience.

Luke Amos, who now plays for Perth Glory in Australia, spent 14 years at Tottenham and worked under Cochrane. The midfielder praised his former coach’s vibrant “energy” and enthusiasm.

“He reminded us that football is about fun, but you need to train properly,” Amos told The Athletic in 2022. “I’ve never seen him lose his head, but if training wasn’t right or someone was being sloppy, he would definitely tell them. He sets high demands. That’s what the best coaches do.

“He is so good to work with and you can always approach him. Everyone connected with him easily. He was my coach at different age groups. He is not going to be the same with me when I was 14 and when I’m 20 — he adapts. When I was going through a few things, Justin would help out — like my mentality and not getting too frustrated — because that is something I definitely struggled with when I was younger.”

Scott Parker was among the coaches Cochrane worked with during his first Spurs spell (Kieran Galvin/Getty Images)

Cochrane used to watch Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Champions League and design training sessions for Spurs’ academy prospects based on what he had seen. Now he needs to prepare for the possibility of facing teams of that magnitude in that competition next season.

In 2017, Cochrane graduated from The Open University with a degree in business, leadership and management. After nine years with Spurs, he became the England Under-15s head coach after seeing an advert online. He worked with then England first-team manager Gareth Southgate, his assistant, Steve Holland, and other age-group coaches including Steve Cooper and Kevin Betsy. Cochrane had played for Crewe when Holland was a member of the backroom staff.

In 2019, he completed his UEFA Pro Licence, was promoted to under-16s head coach and helped England win the UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament. The following year, he was appointed as the under-17s head coach and youth development phase lead. He helped to nurture lots of different players, including Newcastle United full-back Lewis Hall and Manchester City’s Rico Lewis.

He supported then head coach Aidy Boothroyd at the Under-21 Euros in 2019. England were eliminated at the group stage after losing twice and their squad included Dominic Solanke and James Maddison. Like Frank, Cochrane’s track record of developing talent would have appealed to Spurs.

The other members of staff Frank is bringing to Spurs are Haslam, Newton and Andreas Georgson. They will join forces with Wells and Rob Burch who, like Cochrane, both have a long association with Spurs. Ironically, Wells was Fulham’s assistant manager when they beat Frank’s Brentford in the 2020 Championship play-off final.

Haslam is one of Frank’s most trusted allies. He spent over a decade at Brentford across two different spells and was there for the entirety of Frank’s reign. Haslam’s role covered physical performance and sports science. He would be in constant communication with Frank on a match day and suggested substitutions. He often acted as a liaison between Frank and the fourth official. He also worked with Denmark at last summer’s European Championship.

Chris Haslam during his time working with Denmark at Euro 2024 (Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)

Newton was in Tranmere Rovers’ academy before being released and studying for a sports science degree at Wrexham University. During his time at university, he was registered in Wrexham’s squad but spent time out on loan with non-League sides Colwyn Bay, Witton Albion and Newtown AFC. He completed a Master’s degree in performance analysis at the University of Chester and worked for Welsh top-flight side The New Saints.

He joined Brentford as a first-team analyst in September 2019, early in Frank’s first full season in charge. He sits in the stands on a matchday and will debrief on how the team performed afterwards. He would sometimes be accompanied in the stands by Cochrane. They would be tasked with spotting anything the opposition team are doing which is different to what they expected.

Georgson spent last year as Manchester United’s set-piece coach, a role he previously held at Southampton, Arsenal and Brentford. He worked at Brentford during the 2019-20 season when they finished third in the Championship and lost the play-off final, before he was recruited by Arsenal. He also spent a year as technical director of Swedish side Malmo.

Spurs did not have a specialist set-piece coach last season but Nick Montgomery could often be seen giving players instructions from the touchline at corners and free kicks.

Frank refers to his coaching staff as his ‘SWAT team’. It is a bonus that he has been able to bring three people with him from Brentford and another former colleague in Georgson. He faces a huge challenge at Spurs but has surrounded himself with a strong group of assistants.

Top photo: Eddie Keogh/Getty Images

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

The art of showboating: ‘People sometimes see it as a slur – it’s expressing yourself’

Sports

Next

trending_flat

Tijjani Reijnders is ready to transform Manchester City’s midfield – Pep Guardiola can smell it

Sports