Jobs4Football meets Kevin Nicol

Jobs4Football spoke to former Hibernian and Raith Rovers player, Kevin Nicol, who is currently making a name for himself as a coach in Norway.

Before moving into coaching, the Scottish defensive midfielder also spent seven years playing in Norway, where he made over 150+ appearances and scored 12 times.

Nicol is currently the Assistant coach for one of his former clubs, Mjondalen, after previously being in charge of player development for the team.

When discussing his role, Nicol said: “ We are looking forward to the season starting in April, we have a number of exciting young players coming through the academy who are going to get their chance this season.

“We would like to play a bit more expansive football this year. We have a long pre-season to prepare the team to play the way we want them to by making them hard to beat without the ball and free flowing when we have the ball.

“This season will be a big season for many of the young lads who will be looking to take their chance when it comes and it’s up to us as coaches to make sure they have the tools to express themselves on the pitch and attract the attention of big clubs, because a big part of the game at the moment is producing and selling on young talent.”

Mjondalen currently compete in the second division of Norwegian football and will be aiming for promotion back to the first division, but this won’t be Nicol’s first experience of coaching at this level as he was the head coach of his former club, Asker FH, and got them promoted to the third tier and nearly made it all the way to the second division in  just four years.

“I was really happy with how it went at Asker, it was my first time as a head coach and we achieved some great things. On the pitch we played some really exciting stuff and managed to win a lot of games and at the same time we developed a lot of really good players who went on to play for big clubs.

Obviously my role now as an assistant is different to when I was a head coach but its been good to step back slightly and take a look at things from a different angle. I think I’m adaptable as a coach so this transition in roles has been fine for me and it’s helped me to learn and become a even better coach for when I next become a head coach again.”

Nicol has made a successful start to his career in coaching, but the 40-year-old remains keen to keep learning in the hopes of making him a better coach in the future and help him push onto the next level.

“I’ve recently completed my master’s degree in performance coaching last year and as well as this taking a slight step back in roles has meant I have more opportunity to expand my knowledge further. Everyone has a good understanding of the game and how they want to play that’s why I believe factors such as respecting and encouraging players can go a long way to achieving success.

“When I played I had coaches who affected the way I played the game, I was probably too worried about making mistakes and I was playing with fear which affected my confidence and made me less creative as a footballer at times.

“This is why one of the big things for me is psychological safety, it’s a fairly new term in the sport but I feel players should feel safe to be themselves and enjoy the game. This is no way means take it easy because I think we all enjoy things we do well at, but emphasising on a players strengths is something I’m a big believer in because making them feel good will give them the confidence to take that onto the football pitch.

“Being a good man manager and good with emotional challenges are important for any coach because if you have this connection with a player they are more likely to buy into your ideas.

“I also have a clear picture in my head of how I want to play the game which is getting the ball down and passing it through the thirds whilst also being aggressive and being confident enough to play a high line. At the same time you have to be adaptable and so the team also has to be prepared for instances where they will have to dig deep and soak up pressure, but again this all becomes simpler if the players are willing to buy into your ideas.”