The assistant coach of the lions, Mikko Manner, has learned that hard work pays off. And when that didn’t happen, but the result was a dismissal from the club team, the talk inside my head got heavy.
Mikko Mannernicknamed Mamba, is Jukka Jalonen right hand. He is known as a positive and cheerful character both in the national team and elsewhere – but he is also very competitive, a ruthless perfectionist and a self-beater. Or at least it was.
This fall, Manner will work as an assistant coach for Vaasan Sport’s under-16 team. No new coaching contract has appeared since last spring’s firings, but that doesn’t bother Manner anymore. In fact, a short break from professional coaching has given me time for self-reflection.
– If I don’t find anything this year, I’ll try again next year. I’m still aiming to go abroad, I don’t want to give up after one failure.
Manerilla was in his second season as the head coach of Brynäs IF, when the team was threatened with relegation. The season had been difficult and Manner took the blame in front of the media.
– It has been my way of leading. I have borne the responsibility in front of the media and at the same time protected my team.
However, Manner’s habit has taken its toll, and he openly says that he felt bad. Self-esteem also suffered.
Only two days before the first qualifying match against Malmö, Manner was relieved of his duties. My followers Ove Molin took the reins, but he couldn’t turn the course either. Brynäs fell to Sweden’s second highest league ladder for the first time in 63 years.
A perfectionist who is not afraid of work
Now eight months have passed since the firing and Manneri is slowly starting to feel as if it is ready for a new wash. The journey to this point has been long and required the help of a professional helper.
– I was born in the 1970s and I’m used to the fact that you have to work hard to achieve something. Then, when despite the hard work there is no result, then we are a bit lost. I did my job as well as I could, but it wasn’t enough, Manner says about his thoughts.
Manner describes himself as a perfectionist whose harsh inner speech lashes out if things don’t go as they should.
– I have worked hard with my own head with the help of a good psychotherapist. You should be kinder to yourself. For me, the self-whipping went a little too far and now I’m looking for a better balance. You don’t have to be perfect as a coach.
– The match doesn’t always have to go as planned. You have to learn to feel compassion for yourself as well.
Strength from the national team
When life in the club team has been difficult, the national team has been Manner’s safe harbor – a place where energy is refueled in the everyday life of the club team.
– We have the same value base and we help each other. This has been a very special work community and I hope that everyone could experience something like this.
When the EHT tournament in Tampere is over, everyday life begins as an assistant coach for Juniors in Vaasa. It wasn’t part of the plans until last spring, then the focus was firmly on the future.
– There were a few clubs that applied for a new coach for this season, but I wasn’t selected, and that was good in retrospect.
– If I had immediately started in a new club without rest and introspection, I might have ended up in the same situation again. Next time I get the chance, I hope I’ll be a wiser coach.