Alfred Johansson turned 36 on Sunday but, even on a fixture-free weekend, it was a working birthday for the Motherwell manager.
He celebrated later at home with wife Amanda and baby daughter Freya but he was in a happy place as he supervised training at Dalziel Park.
Replacing fellow Scandinavian Jens Berthel Askou in the Fir Park hotseat shaped up as a major summer challenge. Reproducing the best football the Premiership saw last season looked like an equally tall order.
Less than three months into his new job, Johansson is masterminding a seamless transition. Last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at Ibrox is their only league loss so far, it took last season’s Europa League finalists Freiburg to stop them getting to the Conference League group stage and the Motherwell fans continue to turn up in massive numbers and drool over the football entertainment they’re being served up.
Yes, they were knocked out of the Premier Sports Cup by Stenhousemuir, which explains the blank weekend, but it was in the midst of that glorious European adventure. Supporters won’t quickly forget that JBA season of their dreams but a super Swede has taken over from the great Dane.
Johansson laughs when I ask him if he’s feeling the love.
Motherwell appointed Swedish boss Alfred Johansson after a data-led recruitment search
‘Yes I do, almost to an extent that I, what is it you say, blush. I’ve been here for what feels like 15 minutes and I get all that love. It’s just so early to feel that love.
‘Everyone’s been so nice to me and my wife since arriving, whether it be people in the street, people at the club, supporters in the stands. It’s been incredibly welcoming.’
Amanda feels the love too from the Motherwell fans and so she should, having had the final say on her husband’s job offer. She was eight months pregnant and they were living in the Norwegian city of Trondheim when the big decision was taken.
Johansson says: ‘We’d already moved together three years ago from Denmark to Norway and, of course, the next move we discussed together. We have to agree so it’s not just me going and, when you’re becoming parents, obviously it’s another thing to consider.
‘Let’s just say the pregnancy was one of the points we really talked about before deciding to go because, obviously, you normally want stability and calm and safety at the last stages. She’s tough, though, so she took it and, yes, it was challenging at times, but everyone’s been exceptional here in Scotland to help us, both at the club and at the hospital, so we got taken really good care of.
‘She went over time with the pregnancy and I was wondering when it was going to happen. In the end, it happened with good timing when we weren’t playing competitive games, we were playing friendlies, so it was OK.’
We’re sitting, chatting in the Fir Park boardroom and I say to him these last few months have been a bit helter-skelter with all that’s been going on in his personal and professional life. Johansson looks blank and, even though the phrase sounds almost Swedish, I throw in an alternative.
Johansson has continued the expansive game of his predecessor Jens Berthel Askou
‘Ah now I understand,’ he says. ‘Yes it has been like this because, as a manager, you are constantly focused on the next training, next game and, when the transfer window is open, you spend a lot of time on players in and out.
‘And when you’re new in a club you’re even more switched on because you have to learn people’s names, people’s attributes and who does what, so it’s been a hectic period for sure. Plus becoming a father for the first time, so there’s been a lot going on.’
In previous jobs, as youth coach at Copenhagen then in charge of the first team at Rosenborg, Johansson was sometimes given the label of a laptop manager. Would he describe himself as a student of football?
He laughs, then says: ‘Ah, these labels. If you’re asking have I studied football a lot, then the answer is yes. It’s less now that I’m operating at a senior level and now that I’m a father. When I was alone, before Amanda and before Freya, I was probably totally consumed by it whereas today it’s a little bit different.
‘Is it healthier this way? Well I don’t know, I was perfectly healthy when I was obsessed with football. I’ve decided that I want to go for a professional career as a coach to see how far I can take it but I also want to have a family, so I guess at some point there will be compromises.’
He certainly didn’t progress as a player. I ask him to talk me through his playing career.
He smiles. ‘Oh that’s easy, that’s quick. I started when I was nine and stopped when I was around 19 or 20. In my home town of Enkoping, 45 minutes from Stockholm, I played in the best team for one season when I was 16 but I wasn’t a starter, I wasn’t a good player. I was small and scared of tackling so no big playing career, no.
‘It was when I was 16 or 17 that I started thinking about coaching. I was asking lots of questions about the game. I started at youth level as a coach with the local Under-12 team. At that time I was also thinking I needed to study something, get a real job and coaching would be something on the side.
Johansen focused on coaching from a young age and was previously in charge at Rosenborg
‘After three years that flipped. I realised I was quite good at it and I needed to pursue it. I decided to go all in and change the path I was on, working in business and sales. I went to university in Stockholm to study sport science and coaching.
‘When it comes to learning about football, I think I’m a kind of a sponge in that sense. I learn a lot from others, from listening to people but also observing other teams and thinking for myself.
‘It doesn’t matter if you’re a football manager or a company executive or any sort of leader, if you want to perform over time you need to renew yourself. Do the things you’re good at but also turn stones and find ways to develop.
‘If you don’t do that, well it speaks for itself. Other people develop and you’re done. I feel bad if I don’t learn. You were asking about stress. That’s when I feel stressed for real. If I’m only executing, I’m not moving. I need to develop.’
Had Johansson heard of Motherwell before his name popped up in the club’s data-driven search for Askou’s replacement and he jumped at the opportunity?
‘Remember, I was a serious football nerd, growing up, even before coaching, playing all the games you’d imagine, knowing all the names of teams from all over the place. I know much more ABOUT Motherwell now but I’ve known there was a football club here for a long time.
Johansson says he is feeling the love at Motherwell and has been warmly welcomed by fans
‘It’s really impressive what this club has done over the last couple of years and I think there’s a lot of steps still to be taken which makes the project even more exciting. A new training ground for example. They’ve chosen a path and they’ve been sticking to it, all done with a lot of calm and composure. That’s what you’re looking for as a manager.’
Progress at Motherwell has been spectacular. They flirted with a title challenge at one point last season. Could that be sustained this time around?
‘If I look in Sweden right now I see that one of the smallest teams in the league (Sirius) is number one and there’s not much left of the season. Last year in Sweden one of the small clubs (Mjallby) won the league. Why’s that not possible here?
‘I think it is possible. But when’s that going to happen? We can’t put a date on that or an expectation. We have to see. But our focus is not on that. That’s the biggest mistake you can make. You have to stay in the here and now. We’ll get what we deserve, based on what we do.’
