Southampton’s Will Still: ‘i’ve Always Stuck Out. Football’s Helped Me Integrate’

“You don’t telephone it Opel, you telephone it Vauxhall,” says Will Still. “A Corsa, small achromatic point that yet died. Actually, no, Nico, my younger relative collapsed it … it was crap, though, it didn’t moreover person a radio.” Still, who grew up successful Grez-Doiceau, adjacent Brussels, laughs arsenic he recounts his days driving to activity arsenic an unpaid video expert astatine Sint-Truiden while surviving astatine location pinch his mother, Jane. “Best clip of my life, to beryllium honest. It was for illustration nan dream was coming true.”

Twelve years on, nan 32-year-old, 1 of nan astir intriguing managers successful nan game, has been tasked pinch returning Southampton to nan Premier League aft impressing pinch Lens. The only different clip he lived successful England was arsenic a teen erstwhile he spent 2 years studying astatine Myerscough College successful Lancashire, wherever his grade included coaching Preston’s under-14s. At nan clip Still felt for illustration “the small posh Belgian kid” but that play provided a useful instruction successful English football-speak.

“I retrieve getting to assemblage and group were like: ‘Bounce it!’ I haven’t sewage a hint what that means, mate, sorry. Or ‘man on’. By nan end, I was like: ‘God, English shot is nan spot to be.’ We were playing Stockport reserves and group turned up to watch that crippled – a batch of people. It was like: ‘Why are you coming to watch a bunch of assemblage players playing Stockport reserves?’”

Still said English astatine location and French astatine schoolhouse but had to get to grips pinch Dutch aft joining Sint-Truiden’s academy aged 10. He recalls telling his father, Julian, that his teammates did not understand him. “Growing up successful Belgium, not galore group are ginger and speak English. I’ve ever stuck out. Like a sore thumb. I deliberation football’s ever helped maine merge and beryllium a portion of something. And it conscionable became for illustration nan 1 point that I was really rather bully at.”

Still, talking successful nan boardroom astatine Southampton’s New Forest training base, makes absorbing institution arsenic he trawls done his journey, including coaching Hugo Ekitiké astatine Reims and shadowing Thomas Frank during his pro licence; enrolling meant nan Ligue 1 nine were nary longer fined £22,000 each clip he took complaint of a game, a viral communicative that meant his floor plan exploded. “The world nan measurement it is, group conscionable expect it [success] to happen,” he says, clicking his fingers. “And it’s like: ‘Oh, societal media told america that you tin do it.’”

Will Still was nan youngest head successful nan apical 5 European leagues erstwhile appointed astatine Reims aged 24. Photograph: Matt Watson/Southampton FC/Getty Images

There is different story to dispel. It wasn’t conscionable a lawsuit of Still tapping nan spacebar of his laptop playing Football Manager and landing successful Ligue 1; astatine 30, he became nan youngest head successful Europe’s apical 5 leagues erstwhile appointed astatine Reims, having managed Lierse and past Beerschot successful Belgium, taking nan reins astatine nan erstwhile aged 24. Still’s grounding besides led to an easy tag. “They called america laptop managers successful France,” he says. Still enjoyed playing nan video crippled – he was trying to triumph nan Belgian 2nd section pinch Sint-Truiden while moving for nan nine – but it hardly propelled him into frontline management.

He acknowledges, though, that Football Manager had its uses. “When you’re moving astatine clubs successful Belgium that person nary budget, everyone looks astatine it [as a information and accusation tool]. Transfermarkt [football website] … everyone looks astatine it. Everyone looks astatine Fifa [video game] ratings. I’d beryllium stupid not to astatine slightest look astatine it because it’s there. But it didn’t shape my position aliases make maine understand strategies amended because, you cognize what Football Manager is like, you tin play immoderate strategy successful nan world and tweak it somewhat and triumph nan Champions League pinch Rochdale. I’m conscionable a normal person. If I spell connected my summertime holidays, I’ll beryllium down and astir apt play Football Manager.”

Still will not person nan luxury of redeeming nan crippled successful beforehand of kick-off successful lawsuit things spell incorrect against Wrexham, a squad energised aft 3 promotions connected nan spin, connected Saturday. “Exactly,” he says. “We request to get backmost to nan Premier League. We want to do it this year. I’ve been told if it’s not this year, past it astir apt has to beryllium adjacent year. But I want to beryllium competitive, I want to beryllium challenging myself, group astir maine … I was looking astatine footage past week of erstwhile Poch was here,” he says, puffing his cheeks and recalling Mauricio Pochettino’s spell, “and that was a earnestly bully Southampton team. And location is imaginable to do that again, to build thing not conscionable this twelvemonth but complete nan adjacent 2 aliases 3 years.”

Will Still managed immoderate rising stars during his clip successful France, including Liverpool’s caller striker Hugo Ekitiké. Photograph: Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images

What led Still to relive that play nether Pochettino? “[To see] what Saints fans want to see, what sewage them excited, what style of football, what marque of subordinate arsenic well.” He bumped into Pochettino successful Girona during pre-season erstwhile Southampton played Espanyol, different of nan Argentinian’s erstwhile clubs. Pochettino, now nan US nationalist squad manager, wished Still bully luck and nan brace discussed Damion Downs, nan US striker Southampton signed from Cologne this summer. Pochettino was successful nan opposing dugout erstwhile Still took complaint of his first top-flight game, a 0-0 tie against PSG pinch Reims. “They were playing Mbappé, Messi, Neymar – each that batch – and you think: ‘I dream they enactment calm for this one.’”

There was an affectional propulsion to return to England. Last twelvemonth his partner, nan Sky Sports broadcaster Emma Saunders, was earnestly ill, first pinch thyroid crab past encephalitis. “I was going to games and travelling backmost and distant and thinking: ‘I shouldn’t beryllium opinionated connected this training pitch. I don’t moreover cognize why I’m here.’ I needed to beryllium person to location and, ultimately, Emma is home. I conscionable tried to do my champion and, honestly, finishing eighth successful Ligue 1 past season, having sold each nan players we did, was 1 of my proudest achievements and doing it pinch my brothers was beautiful special.” It was a rewarding but draining season. “I won’t miss nan Eurostar, arsenic bully arsenic their work is.”

Still asked Ed and Nicolas, his older and younger brothers respectively, to travel him to Southampton but individual reasons meant nan timing was tricky. He sounded retired Marshall Munetsi, nan Wolves midfielder pinch whom he worked astatine Reims, to get his return connected St Mary’s. Still has coached respective Premier League stars including Abdukodir Khusanov and Kevin Danso astatine Lens, but nary much precocious floor plan than Ekitiké, Liverpool’s £79m summertime signing. “I deliberation going to PSG [in 2022-23] really helped him massively … because he was a prima successful Reims, but he wasn’t a prima successful PSG. And he grew up, he was a boy and turned into a teen and past turned into a benignant of young adult. He’s truthful sharp; he sees nan extremity erstwhile nary 1 other sees it.”

For each parties, it is simply a caller commencement but Still acknowledges location is improbable to beryllium overmuch letup successful a section celebrated for its punishing schedule. So, really does he move off? “This is nan 1 point that nan French ne'er understood: watching cricket,” he says, smiling. Still bowled for Belgium’s under-16s, for whom Ed besides played – “I mean, we were each expats” – and, detailing summertime trips to Lord’s and Trent Bridge, tells really nan athletics takes him to a different place.

“We played Gillingham and Valenciennes [in pre-season] and connected nan Sunday we had a time disconnected and it was like: ‘Em, shall we spell and watch immoderate colony cricket?’ So we packed immoderate food, sat connected a chair and watched colony cricket, up successful St Albans. It was crap … but that’s 1 point I’ve discovered does really extremity nan encephalon reasoning excessively much. I emotion cricket, moreover watching it connected TV. But cricket only goes connected until astir September, truthful past I’m struggling a bit.”