Former Chelsea, Everton and Scotland winger Pat Nevin has heaped praise on Robbie Savage for the impressive start he has made at Forest Green Rovers.
Speaking to OLBG, Nevin, now a respected football writer and broadcaster, commended Savage’s early success in management with the National League high-flyers.
“It’ll be really interesting to see what happens with Robbie Savage,” said Nevin. “Each jump between divisions is huge. We’ve seen managers come up from the Championship to the Premier League and suddenly look out of their depth. So far, there are still a few jumps to go yet for Robbie, but well done to him — he’s juggled quite a lot of things.”
Savage’s passionate and larger-than-life personality has already made him a favourite among Forest Green supporters, something Nevin noted with a smile.
“If he could only be a wee bit more confident, that would help,” Nevin joked. “Irony — does that come across? But seriously, good luck to him. Anyone who takes on that role impresses me because it’s the one job in football I never fancied.”
Nevin reflected on the demands of management, adding: “You can be a great manager, but unless you’ve got money, a good team and a bit of luck, you’ll get hammered. So, Robbie, good luck. It’s been a really good start — and soon he won’t even need to build himself up. Everyone else will be doing it for him.”
“I’ve done almost every other job in football — executive, union leader, you name it. The one job I never wanted, though I was offered it many times, was manager. The commitment, the workload, the criticism — it’s immense.”
