Christmas Day is traditionally a time of year for families to come together, share food and drink and swap presents and celebrate.
For Iñigo Calderón however, Christmas Day was spent in a hotel reviewing footage of Bristol Rovers. Such was the Spaniard's desire to get down to work with his new Club.
Not that Calderón minded. It was a sacrifice he only to willing to make ahead of his confirmation as the new Head Coach at The Memorial Stadium on Boxing Day. The 42-year-old knows the honour he has of leading the Gas, and the work required to take charge at Rovers.
Speaking at his official unveiling at a press conference alongside Director Of Football George Friend, Calderón - or 'Calde', as he likes to be called - talked of his immense pride at his first Head Coach position in men's football.
Taking questions from the attending media, Calderón opened up on his style, his philosophy, the decision to join Rovers, and a chaotic few festive days that culminated in meeting the travelling Gasheads at Exeter City on Boxing Day...
Welcome to Bristol Rovers, why was this Club the right move for you?
“I think it was the right time for me. I think I needed some time in England with the Brighton U18s to get used to the country, to the philosophy, to everything to set up better in England. But there was a moment that I started to need proper men's football, and I think when the opportunity came, I didn't think too much because there are a lot of things I like a lot.
“I said yesterday before the game that I have a lot of similar feelings to the ones when I came to Brighton to play. The team was fighting against relegation in League One, but there was a plan coming up after. We have the training ground coming up, we’re talking about the new stadium, so I have a lot of things that I can feel here.
“To be fair, it has been chaotic in the last few days until finally it has been done. I have really, really good feelings. Even after losing the game against Exeter City, I could see good things in the team. The staff, the players, the training ground, everything is perfect, and I mean it. I think there are good things to come."
How chaotic have the last few days been?
“It’s been very chaotic. My Christmas lunch was cereal and milk while I watched a game in my hotel room, but I seriously didn’t mind. I said to the lads that I didn’t mind because I wanted to be here for the chance to be on the bench at Bristol Rovers.
“There is a lot of work to do and it is of course the time of year to be with your family. I miss them, of course, and I was on FaceTime with them to do the presents. But I had to be here, and I wanted and needed to be here. It was no problem for me because when you want something that much then you do what you need to do.”
How was it for you to meet Bristol Rovers fans for the first time at the Exeter City game?
“I want to say thank you to them. They put pressure on me but it was a good pressure. The fans are the most important part of the Club. Players, managers and coaches come and go, but the fans stay here.
“Even the kids, I loved seeing so many kids at the away game with their Rovers shirt on, I loved that. If we can do something to make the fans’ day even better, we have to do it.”
Was it always a dream and an ambition to be a Head Coach?
“I remember doing set pieces when I was 15. I didn't think ‘I want to be a coach’, I was just enjoying playing football. But I have always been coaching. Even when I was 18, I was coaching under 17s. I love coaching. I say now that it’s true that I love coaching more than playing because I am really busy in my head, so I like to be thinking all the time about football.
“When you are a player, it’s just one hour and a half and after that you have to rest. As a coach, you have 24 hours to do something, and I love it. Playing football is great, but sometimes I think you can affect more things when you are a coach.
“You have to prepare for the game, you have to prepare the session, you have to prepare with the players, you have to prepare with the staff, so there is always something going on and I love it.”
What style of football would you like Bristol Rovers to play?
“It’s been my first day, but in my head I have been working hard. I said before with George Friend that I have so many things in my head I want to do. So for me, it’s really important to try to do A, after that B, after that C because I cannot do everything in a few weeks.
“I am going to try, or the team is going to try, to play football to win games. That’s what we have to do now. If that means we have to play good football, probably that is the style that we are going to try to use, but without being naive at all. The way I like to play football is controlling the game. You can control the game with the ball and without the ball. But controlling the ball without being too much like an NBA game. I don’t like that.
“I want to win the game with passion, we always talk about passion, and it is good because when I came here, they talked about the passion from the fans. If it is about passion, it is not going to be a problem with me because something I have is passion for this sport. A team that wants to play football, is honest and wants to give a lot for the fans because for me, it was crazy yesterday how many fans were there.
How do you assess the group of players at Bristol Rovers?
“The way we approach the game doesn’t change if we are five points clear, it does not matter for me. We have to approach the game the same way, even if we play against the top team in the league. That’s the mentality that I have, to be a proactive team.
"I’ve been watching the players a lot. I watched it this morning. There is big, big room to improve. I said to the boys this morning that the league table doesn’t lie. You are there because of a reason, so you have to do much more things better than the way we are doing at the moment.
“That’s not a problem. I think we have to do a lot of things and will do that for sure. I don’t know if it will be one week, two weeks, three weeks, but we are going to improve, 100 per cent.”
How much are you looking forward to your first game in charge against Stevenage and then Leyton Orient?
“It’s quite a busy period. Probably, in terms of training and implementing ideas, it’s not the best because we don’t have a full week to do that. But the good thing is that the games are coming quick. The lads were obviously feeling bad because they lost the Exeter City game but they know they have another game in two or three days, and that’s so good. It’s the good thing about football.
“We have another good game on Sunday, and then a really special one at The Mem against Leyton Orient. It will be our first game at home but we have the one on Sunday and we have to keep improving, because I think there were good things from the game at Exeter City and we have to try to do more of the good things.
“It’s bad because of how many games there are but it’s also good for connecting with the players because all the players will have their chances and it’s important for them when a new Head Coach comes. I think that’s really good because we will need all of them in the coming games.”
How much adaptation do you think is needed to your style for a senior team, as opposed to an Academy team?
“For me, it’s easier with men’s football because I think they are more prepared. They are better players and they’ve been playing longer. You can have better conversations with them and you can say whatever you want, wherever with kids you probably need to be more aware. With men’s footballers, it is easier. They play more football too. The league is competitive and you have to play in regard to the opposition and the points, but for me it doesn’t change. The rules are the same.
“The players here can play good football and nothing is going to change in one day, two days, one week, but we have to start doing things step-by-step because I think we’ve got the players here to do it.”
A lot of big managerial names have come from the Basque Country. Are there any names that have been particularly influential for you?
“It’s true that there are a lot of Basque coaches who are doing really good. You have Xabi Alonso, you have Unai Emery, you have Mikel Arteta, you have Andoni Iriola, just to name some, and I think it comes from the discipline and hard work we have in the Basque Country. That doesn’t mean they are different in the South, but we have that hard-work, that mentality and that passion in the North.
“It’s very similar to England. I was probably too English to play in Spain and too Spanish to play in England, but I think I have that mentality and English football has always been a strong influence with where I live, so I try to mix that with everything.”
What’s your message to the Bristol Rovers supporters and what do you hope to achieve here?
“Firstly, win on Sunday. After that, win the next one, and then the next one. I learned a lot of that from Diego Simeone, it’s win game by game and I don’t want to look too far forward. The idea is to start improving, and that’s how I see football and coaching, and we don’t look much further than that.”
