India’s I-League is not an obvious destination for an ambitious young English football manager, but the world’s second-most-populous country is where the 37-year-old Ashley Westwood is making a name for himself.
The former Manchester United youngster, a member of the 1995 FA Youth Cup side captained by Phil Neville, later enjoyed a 17-year, 900-game professional career for Crewe Alexandra, Bradford City, Sheffield Wednesday and Wrexham, among others.
He played in teams that won promotion from all four of England’s leagues below the Premier League, so it is fair to say he has seen first hand how to achieve success in football.
Coaching was the natural next step, most recently at Blackburn Rovers in the English Championship as assistant manager to close friend Michael Appleton, with whom he had assisted at Blackpool and Portsmouth.
Bengaluru followed, a team as little known in India as England.
Not now. This start-up club, the only one in Bangalore, a metropolis of 10 million, has exceeded expectations. Currently third in the 13-team league they were invited to join to make it more pan-Indian.
“There was never any talk about us winning the league,” Westwood said. “There wasn’t even talk about us finishing mid-table.
“Because we’re a new club, we’re exempt from relegation for the first three years. When this club formed in May, most of the best Indian players were already contracted elsewhere. We had to source the players who were available to us, those the others didn’t want. We got them fit, sorted the nutritional side out and got them playing attractive football.
“We’re surprising a few people.”
Westwood communicates with his players, who are predominantly Indian but speak several languages and dialects, in English.
“Because I’m northern English and don’t speak like the queen, they sometimes struggle to understand me,” he said, “but I’ve learnt to speak slowly and my assistant helps.”
Westwood quickly strengthened his side.
“I wanted players who were 25 or 26 and experienced,” he said, and experience in England was preferable. He brought in John Johnson from Northampton Town and the Kenyan Curtis Osano, who played for various League Two clubs, plus the Australian Sean Rooney, who is scoring.
“These are players who could play in League One or Two in England,” Westwood said. “And we have other players who could play at that level.”
He did not expect his first job in management to be in India, but he knows football is full of surprises: “Portsmouth was tough. I went as an assistant to Michael, who I’ve known since I was 10. He had a three-year contract and a guaranteed budget. Two weeks into the job, the club went into administration.”
This tailspin saw them go from winning the FA Cup in 2008 to fourth-division football this season.
Blackburn was another huge challenge under their controversial Indian owners, Venky’s.
“We were dealing with top players on big budgets,” he said. “It was a big learning curve, but it wasn’t the most stable environment after relegation from the Premier League.”
A fully qualified coach who has completed all his badges, he is enjoying himself, albeit in a sporting landscape dominated by cricket.
“Cricket has been the most popular sport for years,” he said. “That’s where the big interest and the money is, the corporate money.
“But it’s changing. Football is getting more popular. There are more English Premier League games on television all the time and you see English shirts on kids in the street.
“There are 1.2 billion people here, you only need to tap into a small percentage to get a big following.”
There is improvement everywhere.
“If there’s better coaching and players the standards will continue to improve,” said Westwood, an advocate of video technology and analysis who watched 600 games on video last season. “It takes a lot of time and late nights and 5am starts, but it’s worth it. At Portsmouth, I’d watch the last four games of the team we were playing, then make 10-12 minute DVDs on the opposition.
“I’d also analyse our own performances. If I can take the excuse element out of a football game by preparing my team as well as I can, defeat is easier to understand.”
It is a practice he is repeating in India.
“I’ve not come here for money, but to make a name for myself as a coach,” he said. “I’m ambitious; I want to manage in top leagues.” He played with Roberto Martinez, now Everton’s manager.
“He showed that you can do it.” Westwood said. “I also learnt from Alex Ferguson and Dario Gradi.
“Ferguson had discipline and aura. You don’t get many chances to impress as a manager. I’ll take mine.”
Westwood made the move alone, though his wife recently joined him. He keeps in touch, via Skype, with family from a previous marriage.
“If I’m here and away from them, I want to make sure that I give it my best effort. If I don’t succeed then it’s an injustice to them,” he said.
That obsessive dedication is working.
The season finishes in April, but it is a precursor to a long-mooted Indian Super League, which is scheduled to start next September.
Westwood wants Bengaluru ready and he already has made progress in a short time.
“We had 13 players when I arrived, most of whom hadn’t played at the top level in India. And we had a pitch, that was about it. No chefs, trainers, nutritionists, gyms, equipment or stretching rooms.
“We were a new club with nothing, no fans, nothing. We had to go into the market and promote the club, which we did.”
He said Bengaluru are getting 8,000 fans for home games, which are held at the state football stadium.
Given India’s size, away games require a flight and the club have a professional infrastructure. At a lower level, youth teams have been assembled and the club made news by signing the India captain Sunil Chhetri.
“That caused a stir and we’ve also signed Robin Singh, another India international, to add to the four foreigners,” Westwood said.
“Everyone is treated the same and the players recognise that they’re getting good coaching. They think they’re at the best club to improve as players.
“All the players are housed, they eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together. There’s good discipline, too.”
The funds came from owners JSW Group, one of India’s largest conglomerates.
“We play nice attacking football,” Westwood said. “In terms of organisation and training, it’s as close to a Championship-standard English club as you’ll get. The difference is that we have 24 Indians and four foreign players.
“We’re making it work.”
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE