David Artell says that the most frustrating part of football management is not being able to be out there on the pitch to help the team. The Alex boss, who captained Crewe Alexandra to promotion in 2012, would love to be back out there organising and cajoling more from his team in times of adversity.
Ahead of this weekend’s trip to Forest Green Rovers, Artell said: “The most frustrating part of being a manager is that you cannot be out there yourself trying to influence things. You can influence it from the touchline up to a certain point but it is still different to when you are on the pitch and in the thick of it.
“It would be nice to be out there and tell the players exactly what is needed, especially when we have conceded a goal or the opposition have changed something.
“For me that is the hardest part. That and recruitment which is tough. That can be equally frustrating.
“When you suffer a defeat like we did last Saturday, you are not exactly jumping through hoops. It was my daughter’s 10th birthday on Sunday and the last thing I wanted to do was party, but you put a praise face on it because it is life.
“It hurts and you have a lot of emotions to contend with but it’s the nature of the job. You have to go in on Monday in the right frame of mind. The players knew I was annoyed but they were hurting just as badly and it is up to us to make sure we feel better on the weekends.”