Kolo Toure says hard work not name gave him Wigan job
The former Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool defender has been handed his first managerial appointment
Wigan manager Kolo Toure has refuted the notion that he only landed the Wigan Athletic job on the basis of his name.
The former Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool defender has been handed his first managerial appointment after serving as a coach for five years under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic and Leicester.
That led to accusations that the Latics, second from bottom in the Championship, had gone for a glamorous name rather than opt for an fire-fighting option, with Mick McCarthy one of several experienced managers in the reckoning.
Toure accepted the criticism, saying it was up to him to prove them wrong, but added: “I started my coaching badges in 2014 when I was playing at Liverpool.
“It’s strange but every manager I’ve worked with, they all told me: ‘You’re going to be a manager one day.’ It was incredible.
“I’m quite vocal, I tried to help my team and that was the feeling I had for a long time. When I finished my career, I never stopped. I learnt all the skills you need to be a manager.”
The Ivory Coast international served under Arsène Wenger at the Emirates and Roberto Mancini at City, winning Premier League titles with both, before almost completing a treble under Rodgers at Liverpool and then rounding off his playing career with a Scottish Premier League winner’s medal with Celtic.
Three very different managers, and Toure says he has absorbed a little from each: “You take a little bit from each of them and make it your own. Arsene Wenger was an unbelievable man manager.
“You need to love the players. You need to like them. You need to make them feel important. They are human beings. The closer you keep them, the more respect you give them, the more they can give you.”
Toure’s 22-year stay in English football has been marked by glory — until Leicester’s recent troubles, he was used to fighting for titles at the elite end of the table, but he has inherited a club that sacked Leam Richardson after a run of six defeats in eight games saw them plunge into relegation trouble.
The idea that he has had a cosseted playing career which has not prepared him for life at the sharp end of the Championship, does not sit well with Toure.
“I’ve played under top managers but before that I played in the Ivory Coast, tough leagues where you have to dig in,” he said. “With Leicester we were struggling at the start and then found a way, which I learned from, and that is great.
“In Ivory Coast you’re playing in a league where there is no grass, sometimes there were no lines. You would run past the touchline and keep going.
“It’s about character. Life is not easy. When I came here as a player back in the day, what was driving me was my commitment and attitude.”
