I want another crack at management in England, admits Paul Lambert

Jul 27 2008 Mark Guidi

PAUL LAMBERT admits he is desperate for another chance to prove himself as a boss in English football.

But the former Celtic and Scotland captain doesn't expect his impressive CV as a player to carry much weight in boardrooms or dressing-rooms down south.

In fact he reckons hardly anyone across the border will know he won the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund in 1997.

However, he hopes that given a chance he will enhance his reputation after a good spell at Wycombe where he took them to the League Two play-offs and Carling Cup semi-finals.

And despite the former Livi boss walking out after the play-off defeat by Stockport three months ago he said: "I want to get back to England. I loved it at Wycombe.

"One or two things weren't right and I decided to go but I want to get back down.

"The two years I had there - when we beat two Premiership sides to reach the semi-finals of the Cup when we were basically in the English Fourth Division - were way beyond my expectations.

"Now I want another go. It's hard to get into England and manage but that's what I want.

"There have been a few things since but nothing that was right.

"I'd have stuck it for another season if things had been right at Wycombe but as it was even if they'd gone up I'd still have left.

"It was nothing to do with the football, just time to go.

"I enjoyed good times as a player and want the same as a manager.

"I won the European Cup but that's gone now and I'm not the type who'd go into a dressing-room as a manager and talk about winning a Champions League medal.

"I don't even know where the medal is - I think it's in my house somewhere. My playing career didn't mean a jot when I went down there. I had to earn their respect through being a manager as opposed to anything I'd achieved as a player.

"The European Cup? It meant nothing in the Wycombe dressing room.

I was a nobody to a lot of them in there and it was up to me to make an impression.

"That was one of the great things about going down there - trying to get them to respect me as a person and a manager."

Lambert, who went to Germany to do his coaching badges, was fortunate enough to work under Ottmar Hitzfeld at Dortmund as a player. But Martin O'Neill is the man he has taken most from in his managerial career.

At Celtic, O'Neill was known to copy Brian Clough's style in that he rarely took training and instead focused on man-management.

Lambert likes that approach, too, and said: "I had Martin for five years. He is one of best. I spoke to him a lot when I was at Wycombe, I don't pretend otherwise.

"I don't know everything, I'm just starting out. I'd speak to him and he'd tell me how to handle things. As soon as you believe you have arrived you are going to end up with egg on your face.

"The game's all about players. My job at Wycombe was to try to get the best out of them and they gave me effort in abundance. It was the same under Martin. We gave everything for him - that's why we had success.

"Man-management was one of first things I focused on as there is a big difference between being on the coaching ground every day and knowing how to handle people."

Lambert's family didn't move to England when he took the Wycombe job in 2006 as he didn't feel it was right to disturb the schooling of his four kids.

It's not ideal to be away from home most of the week but that's a sacrifice he's willing to make in order to succeed in his next job.

He said: "I wasn't surprised I enjoyed England. I'm not the type who just wants to stay in his own country. I went to Germany to play and it opened my eyes and going to England did the same.

"You're going places you've never been and you're meeting managers and people you've never met before which was great.

"Even being separated from my family wasn't too difficult - you get used to it and we all know as a manager you could be somewhere six weeks or six years.

"If you take your kids out of school when they're doing well or having exams it's not fair.

"I just had to concentrate on my job and when you get to the semi-final of the Carling Cup it makes it worthwhile.

"We beat Fulham then knocked out Charlton to get there. Then we were in the last four and it's Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and ourselves. Wonderful.

"We held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at our place but lost the return leg.

"Jose Mourinho was really complimentary and that was nice but you have to move on and try to create new special moments."