Chapter 17: Road to Wrexham
It was still dark outside, but Niels had already been awake for hours.
He was sitting alone in the small tactics room at the stadium. The heater was running quietly in the background, and his coffee was sitting beside him, already cold.
The whiteboard was covered in notes. There were arrows, lines and a few messy drawings showing what he had learned from watching Wrexham's recent games.
They pressed high.
Their fullbacks pushed forward often.
They also liked playing diagonal passes into the spaces between the defenders and midfield.
Niels stepped back and looked at the board.
He wasn't only thinking about their tactics anymore. He was trying to figure out where they could be exposed.
He picked up the marker, then put it back down.
There was already enough on the board. Adding more wouldn't help.
For once, he trusted what he had.
There was no assistant coach sitting beside him. No Milan to question his ideas or point out something he had missed.
It was just Niels.
He was tired, and his coffee had done very little to help, but he didn't feel lost.
The pressure was still there. He knew that.
But it didn't feel as heavy as it had before.
This was his responsibility now, and slowly, he was getting used to it.
A notification from Niels's tablet caught his attention.
He looked at the screen. Wrexham's midfield was shown on the heat map, with three players moving around the middle of the pitch.
Niels studied it for a moment.
He could see where the gaps were likely to appear when they pressed.
"That's where we can get them," he said quietly.
He added a few notes to his plan:
Nate: make runs behind the left-backReece: stay deeper and help stop counter-attacksDev: look for early passes through midfield
Niels stopped when he reached Nate's name.
He opened the Insight screen.
[Fragile confidence still present]
[Needs early touches to settle]
[Usually stronger in the second half]
Niels looked at the notes again.
The system was showing him the numbers and information, but he was thinking about Nate himself. The young winger had ability. What he needed now was confidence.
"Alright, kid," Niels said quietly. "Let's give you a chance."
Training that morning was cold and hard.
There were no big speeches. Niels kept things simple. They worked on quick passing, transitions and keeping the pace high.
The frost made the pitch slippery, and the wind made things even harder. Some passes went too far while others stopped sooner than expected. A few shots missed the target.
Still, everyone was working hard.
"Quick transitions!" Niels shouted. "It doesn't have to be perfect. Just move the ball and make them work."
Dev misplaced a pass and shook his head.
Niels walked over.
"You're thinking too much about making a mistake," he said. "It happens. Forget it and play the next pass."
Dev nodded.
"Yeah. Got it."
Nate was having a good session. His movement was better, and he was making smarter runs. But Niels noticed that he still hesitated before shooting.
"Nate!"
The winger came over.
"You've got the ability," Niels said. "You see things other players don't. But you keep waiting before you make your decision."
"I'm trying," Nate replied.
"Don't try. Trust yourself."
Nate looked at him for a moment.
Then he nodded.
There was no big reaction from the other players. Training simply carried on.
But Niels could see that something had changed.
Nate looked a little more confident when he went back into the drill.
The team bus left Crawley just after lunch.
The trip to Wrexham would take around three and a half hours, depending on traffic. Outside, the sky was grey and cloudy.
Most of the players were quiet. Some had headphones on and were trying to sleep. Others were on their phones, watching clips from previous games or talking to their families.
Niels sat near the front of the bus with his notes and tablet.
He went through his printed plans first, then checked the diagrams on his tablet. The notes helped him think things through, while the tablet gave him the information he needed quickly.
He stopped at a page he had written the night before.
Plan B: If we go behind early:
Reece drops into a deeper midfield roleLiam moves inside to give more passing optionsNate moves to the right and runs behind the defenceLuka plays behind the striker
Niels looked over the plan again.
Then his Insight system updated.
[Luka: performs well when the game becomes chaotic]
[Dev: reacts quickly when play breaks down]
[Reece: helps calm the team but struggles when chasing the game]
Niels leaned back in his seat.
The plan wasn't just about positions.
He had to think about the players too. Who would stay calm? Who would take risks? Who could change the game if things went wrong?
There was a lot to consider.
Niels closed the tablet and looked out of the window.
The match was getting closer.
The Wrexham stadium came into view as the bus arrived.
It was an old ground with small stands close to the pitch. It looked like the kind of place where the fans could make a lot of noise.
The players got off the bus as the wind picked up. The sky was grey, and the cold was sharp. They could already hear drums and supporters outside the stadium.
Niels zipped up his jacket and walked onto the pitch by himself.
The grass was short and well looked after. It looked quick, which suited the way they wanted to play.
Niels walked around for a few minutes, looking at the pitch from different angles and taking in the surroundings.
He looked up at the stands.
His breath was visible in the cold air.
This wasn't a temporary job anymore.
He was the coach now.
And this was his first match in charge.
The away dressing room was small and old. The ceiling was low, and the walls were starting to peel. The room smelled of sweat and muscle rub.
Niels stood in front of the players with his hands in his jacket pockets.
He didn't use a whiteboard or give a big speech.
"You know the plan," he said. "We've trained for this. You've watched the videos and you know what to expect."
He paused.
"But none of that matters if you don't trust the plan. And it doesn't matter if you don't trust yourselves."
The players listened quietly.
"We're not here just to protect the lead. We're here to play our game and show what we can do."
Niels looked around the room before stopping on Nate.
"Trust yourself."
Nate nodded.
Niels took a breath.
"Alright. Let's go."
The players stood up and started making their way towards the tunnel.
The tunnel was narrow and loud.
The Wrexham fans were making plenty of noise outside, and the drums could be heard from inside the stadium. The sound filled the tunnel as the players waited to go out.
Niels walked to the dugout and zipped his jacket up.
The wind was cold, and he could feel it on his face.
Behind him, the players were moving around and getting ready. Everyone looked focused.
For a moment, Niels stood still.
He wasn't nervous anymore.
He wasn't Milan's assistant. He wasn't filling in for someone else.
He was the head coach.
This was his team, his first match in charge.
Niels took a breath and looked towards the pitch.
For the first time, he really felt like he belonged there.