Sacked in the Morning

QPR boss Mark Warburton has managed in the West London, East Midland and Glasgow derbies. All big matches but he claims nothing compares to the intense rivalry of Rangers V Celtic so who better to help us answer the question - Should you approach derby games any differently than other fixtures? Craig shares his experiences of managing the Edinburgh Derby between Hearts and Hibs, Mark talks us through his first ever Old Firm - a Scottish Cup Semi-Final at Hampden no less and he explains the difficulty he had with the media during his time in Glasgow. Mark and Craig also discuss whether the Old Firm should move to the English leagues, comparisons between Mark's time as a city trader and in management and we hear the remarkable story of when Mark turned on the TV to discover he had resigned as Rangers manager.

Former New England Revolution gaffer and Liverpool, Blackburn and Tottenham Hotspur legend Brad Friedel joins Craig and Amy to talk about bringing the standards he had in the Premier League to Major League Soccer. From poor diets to those above having spies in the camp Brad reveals how he was up against it in his first management job in the MLS. Craig explains why he thinks there are not a lot of goalies who make the move from between the posts to the dugout and we hear which club arranged a secret rendezvous to try and prize Craig away from Hearts during his time as a player.

We've been stopped in the street, messaged on social media and emailed and finally we can answer the question you have all been asking...Sacked in the Morning is finally coming back for a new series! Craig and Amy share their excitement in this quick bonus episode, Amy reveals how in this series we're going to need YOUR help plus she has a little game of "Would you Rather" with Craig.

Joining Craig Levein to help share favourite stories is Arbroath gaffer Dick Campbell. No one theme in this episode as Amy picks words from a tombola to help stir the memories of our two managers - hear about the time Dick's wife joined him at a game, the time Craig walked into what he thought was HIS hotel room in Cyprus and Dick explains why players need to be H.A.P.P.Y.

Former Bolton Wanderers, West Ham United and Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce joins Craig and Amy to discuss festive football. Can you trust players on Christmas nights out, should you train on Christmas day? and who once dressed as a bumble bee for a night out? Sam reveals the joy years ago in getting a turkey as a festive bonus plus he reveals the player who went awol one Christmas so he could visit his family and Craig recounts the tale when he was so desperate for a Xmas night out he ignored his managers orders

Just what do Assistant Managers do? Jimmy Nicholl is the current Northern Ireland assistant manager and has been second in command across a variety of clubs including Rangers, Dunfermline and Aberdeen...not only that, as a manager in his own right, he once took little Raith Rovers on a European adventure that would see them taking on (and surprising) the mighty Bayern Munich. In this episode Craig explains what he expects his assistants to bring to the job, Jimmy remembers the fear he had of the assistant manager at Manchester United when he was a 16 year old and he takes us back to the Olympic Stadium in Munich and what happened at half time

What makes a manager want to go and coach in the most militarised zone in the world? Craig and Amy are joined by former Rangers, Aberdeen and Leeds United player David Robertson about managing Real Kashmir. Davie describes winter training Kashmir style, his struggles to sign players and just what happens when your owner forgets to book a bus to training. Plus Craig recounts his experiences of managing players from different cultures and one particular story about how a former manager dealt with a player who couldn't understand English.

Phil Brown has managed in every league in England which means unfortunately he has been sacked from every league in England. The former Hull City* gaffer joins Craig and Amy to share his experiences of getting the chop.What's it like getting sacked? Do you know that it's coming? And can you change the chairman's mind?Craig reveals what was said when he got the boot from Leicester, Phil tells us that he never believed he'd get the sack - and how quickly that belief was challenged and Amy shares her experiences of a manager 'bringing the job home’.*we also ask about THAT team talk :-D

Captain Blood himself - former Motherwell, Inverness Caley Thistle and Hibernian manager plus former England Captain Terry Butcher joins Craig and Amy to discuss just what is needed to be a great leader on the pitch. The two former managers discuss the qualities you are looking for when picking a captain, Craig reveals why perhaps he only managed to captain the Scottish national side just the once and Terry talks about the honour when Sir Bobby Robson asked him to captain England at the World Cup in Italy in 1990.

Mixu Paatelainen and Craig Levein's management careers have a few parallels. Both started at Cowdenbeath FC, both managed Dundee United and both have managed their countries. So Mixu joined Craig and Amy back where it started, in the board room at Central Park, Cowdenbeath to take a look at the life of an international manager. We find out what a manager gets up to in between international fixtures, Mixu recalls the time he led Finland against the World Champions and Craig talks about the time a player pulled out of his squad because he claimed he was fatigued...and how Craig knew that wasn't true!

He led Wycombe Wanderers to a League Cup Semi Final against Chelsea and took Norwich City from League Two to 10th in the Premier League and we bet that he bawled and shouted at a fair few referees along the way. Paul Lambert joins Craig Levein and Amy Irons to take a look at the men in the middle. Do managers have any sympathy for the officials? Have they ever apologised for getting it wrong?Paul reveals what happened when he ran into the referees room to complain about an assistant ref, only to see him sitting in the corner, Craig tells us about the time he refused to pay a fine for criticising the official and Amy ponders whether it's worse being the 4th Official rather than the man in charge.

Over 1500 matches in the dugout and 34years in the game Arbroath manager Dick Campbell has been there and done it. Currently the manager of the highest placed part-time team in Scotland he has worked wonders on one of the smallest budgets imaginable. Craig and Amy explore with Dick what it's like to manage a team on a shoestring. Craig reveals what changed about Cowdenbeath in the years between him being there as a player and starting there as a manager, Dick shares the words of wisdom Sir Alex Ferguson gave him about management (and his eye-opening response) plus Amy "borrows" a game from BBC Radio 4 as we play "Desert Island Dick"

A man who has been in football management since 1983, former Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth and Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp joins Amy Irons and Craig Levein to dive into the murky world of football transfers. Harry reveals which player refused to play because he was given the number 16 and which free transfer remains to this day the best bit of transfer business he did. Recorded in Tynecastle Park, home of Heart of Midlothian, Craig reveals the prank played on him in the dressing room when he signed as a teenager and Amy plays 'Play your Transfer Window Cards Right' with Harry. Can he remember who cost more, Peter Crouch or Jermain Defoe?

The man who turned talking to the press into an art form, former Blackpool gaffer Ian Holloway joins Craig Levein and Amy Irons to discuss dealing with the media. Ian talks about the time when he invited a journalist into the dressing room to apologise to his defence, Craig reveals when a Scotland player leaked his team to the papers and Amy asks who said it, Ian Holloway or Ted Lasso.

The former Stoke City gaffer joins Craig Levein and Amy Irons to discuss what it takes to get the most out of a team of players. Including incredible stories about the time Ricardo Fuller left for a Jamaican international that didn’t exist, with Stoke’s biggest game of the season around the corner. Craig Levein reveals the time he tried to teach a player a lesson by locking him in a cupboard and we hear if managers ever intentionally set out to wind up their opposite number.

SACKED IN THE MORNING, YOU’RE GETTING SACKED IN THE MORNING What’s it like to hear that sung? Craig Levein & Amy Irons lift the lid on the stresses & joys of football management.