Set-piece coach is a new concept in Indian football. So when one scrolled down the names in SC East Bengal coach Robbie Fowler’s technical staff, Terence McPhillips evinced a lot of interest. “A set-piece coach. What’s that for”? was the common refrain.
“It’s a new concept in India and I am pleased to be the first set-piece coach in India, if I am. Hopefully I will be able to make a difference,” McPhillips tells The Telegraph during a free-wheeling chat.
He then corrects you and says he is a football coach first and a set-piece coach later.
“I am a football coach first… Robbie and assistant manager (Anthony Grant) knew about my last job (head coach of League One side Blackpool from September 2018 to July 2019) and wanted me for this specific role. It’s not new in England, not new in Premiership… Liverpool have got a throw-in coach. FA has got in-possession coaching and out-of-possession coaching,” McPhillips says.
SC East Bengal started their preparations for ISL VII a bit late. They had just seven days of practice sessions and McPhillips says the first few weeks would go in getting an idea about who is good at what.
“Closer to the D-day, set-piece will become more important. It’s a massive part of the game anyway… You have to be organised and maintain shape when there is a corner or a throw-in or a free-kick and vice-versa, how you need to attack during direct free-kicks or corner kicks. My job will be to help the team in terms of organisation.
“We will give all the lads a chance to show what they can do in terms of set play and then probably will zero in on two-three players… We are now working on other aspects like fitness. We have got the time to see who is better in dead-ball situations.”
When it comes to defending against direct free-kicks, McPhillips will always go for a big wall.“You will certainly like to build a wall which doesn’t separate... a wall that separates is not a very good wall… I have seen that can happen at different levels. You should also have characters in the wall who can happily take the ball on the face,” he informs.
The 52-year-old, who was born in Manchester but from an early age was at Merseyside, is a huge fan of David Beckham and admires Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse who is being rated as an heir to Beckham in dead-ball situations and both are right-footed players. But he thinks left-footed footballers are always in a better position in set-plays than right-footed ones. “Left-footed players have the ability to put the ball at the right spot more often than not… They are more coordinated and get the bend better.
“You know I would love to have one Beckham or a Ward-Prowse or Roberto Carlos in the SC East Bengal squad. But then, you have to take stock of what you have and make the most of it… that’s our job, to understand what suits us best while attacking and defending during set-plays and that’s the exciting part.”
Talking about how direct free-kicks have evolved, McPhillips feels in the last 20 years individual skill has become more important. “Over the years, free-kicks have evolved as the ball became lighter. But what I have seen in the last 20 years is that individual skill has become more important. The ability to get the ball over the wall during direct free-kicks.. the optimum point where you want it at the box on a regular basis during a corner or a free-kick… A free-kick taker should also have big-match temperament. When you a direct free-kick taker, you cannot be striking over the bylines. You should have the confidence to hit the back of the net.”