BIG PETE: Di Matteo on working with stars and the emotions of being sacked as a coach

Roberto Di Matteo explained the vital need to stay in touch with club bosses along with the feeling of being dismissed from a coaching role. It is vital to keep open communication with them. Regarding the players I always aimed to build strong bonds yet I may have not fully appreciated how key the ties with management are. Being informed that your services are no longer required feels very low. In our first season we avoided the drop zone nearly all the time apart from right after the opening game so the decision came as unexpected when they contacted me to announce a shift in direction the Italian coach remembered while chatting with Petr Čech.

He went on to describe his methods as a coach and his way of handling leading players. My approach centres on understanding people. To begin I aim to learn about the individual their preferences their dislikes their home life their origins and similar details. The style of conversation differs when addressing someone from Europe compared to someone from Africa or South America given the variety of backgrounds. Only after that do we focus on the technical aspects said Di Matteo.

When I played people often asked me about sharing a changing room with top talents. I would reply that yes they may be famous yet they remain human. Frequently those perceived as arrogant superstars turn out to be modest and focused on improving their performance he noted.

The full TV version of this episode of the Big Pete documentary series will be available on CANAL+ Sport and the CANAL+ streaming service in the Czech Republic Slovakia France Poland Myanmar Belgium the Netherlands Austria Romania and Hungary and on SuperSport in South Africa and Switzerland.