Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 11

11: Interim Manager

The day after their unexpected victory in the Carabao Cup second round, even the interim manager was surprised. Hyungmin arrived for training and was summoned to Helena’s office.

The void left by Sean Dyche’s departure remained unfilled.

Except for a skeleton crew handling administrative affairs, stadium operations, and public relations, the club office felt desolate. Most of the coaching staff, other personnel, the scouting team, and almost the entire analysis team had resigned.

Hyungmin, passing by empty desks that could have been his, arrived at Helena’s office and knocked.

“Yes, come in!”

As Hyungmin opened the door, Helena, who was on the phone, gestured for him to sit on the sofa with an apologetic expression and continued her animated conversation.

“…No, that’s not it. Now that we’ve acquired Burnley, it’s only right to invest funds to stabilize it.”

“…Yes. That’s right.”

Helena frowned at something she heard.

“…We’re not trying to maximize returns right now! Zero percent of a hundred is still zero. You know very well that if the club goes bankrupt, the 20 million pounds we invested will vanish. This isn’t the time to be penny-pinching.”

“…We need enough funds to run the club properly. Dad approved this deal! ALK Capital bled us dry, leaving us with nothing!”

“…Do you think that’s as easy as it sounds? Burnley’s reputation with banks is in tatters because of ALK Capital. They won’t lend us a penny without a 100% guarantee anyway.”

Helena, struggling to maintain her composure, finally snapped at the next words she heard over the phone.

“…Brother, are you out of your mind? Use Turf Moor [Burnley’s home stadium] as collateral? Absolutely not! As a director of Burnley Football Club, I can’t accept a proposal that could send the club spiraling. And I don’t fancy getting chased by angry fans! Besides, Turf Moor isn’t worth much as collateral right now.”

“…What do you mean it’s not worth it?! It’s a 22,000-seat stadium, but we’re only getting 35 pounds per ticket! Even if it’s full, we only make up to 770,000 pounds per game, but in reality, more than half of that is from season tickets, so we end up getting less than 15 pounds per game! And what about the stadium maintenance costs? That’s not net profit!”

“…Turf Moor is the heart of the club, not some expendable part! Would you feel good if a doctor cut off your head to save your limbs!”

A heated voice was heard over the phone, then suddenly went silent.

Surprised, Hyungmin looked at her with concern as Helena straightened her posture in the chair.

“…Yes. No. No. Yes, I will be careful. Yes.”

“…Yes. But you still have to give us a zero interest rate. Yes. Yes, of course.”

“…A 10 million pound call. Of course. Thank you.”

Finally ending the call, Helena glared at her phone, gritting her teeth and muttering.

“Then why don’t you come and save it yourself!”

Hyungmin, who had been listening to one side of the conversation, coughed uncomfortably. Helena looked at him.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Kim.”

“It’s okay. Should I have come at another time?”

“No, well, it’s not exactly a secret.”

Helena got up from her seat and sat on the sofa in front of Hyungmin, facing the table.

“That’s how investment is. You want to buy things as cheaply as possible, but once you buy them, you have to keep pouring money in to fix the cheap things you bought. It’s the same with companies and clubs.”

“Does Burnley need constant investment?”

“Not originally. Actually, Mike and John were managing it quite well.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Well… firstly, ALK Capital borrowed a lot of money to acquire Burnley, and they drained all the cash Burnley Football Club had to pay it back. Secondly, the COVID-19 pandemic hit.”

“Ah….”

Helena sighed and said.

“Actually, it’s not entirely ALK Capital’s fault. No one anticipated that COVID-19 would spread worldwide, and no one imagined that ticket revenue would disappear completely.”

Helena shook her head.

“The problem is that small clubs like Burnley don’t generate much revenue from marketing or sponsorships, so when about 20 million pounds of annual ticket revenue suddenly vanishes, there’s no way to compensate.”

“I see. Oh, then why did you suddenly want to see me?”

“Oh, that’s right. I didn’t call you to talk about this.”

Helena cleared her throat slightly and said, looking at Hyungmin, who was sitting across from her.

“The club’s board of directors has been discussing it. The media is already full of speculation, but I want to formally offer you the position of manager of Burnley Football Club.”

“….”

Helena chuckled at Hyungmin’s unchanging expression and asked.

“Aren’t you surprised?”

“I read the newspapers too. And I am surprised. I’m just trying to maintain a professional demeanor.”

“Oh, I see.”

“But why me?”

“Well… I think these will explain it better than I can.”

Helena produced the sports sections of major British and regional daily newspapers.

The British media, known for their intense focus on football, had latched onto Burnley and were publishing multiple articles daily.

‘Three consecutive wins in the first three games led by a rookie Asian interim manager.’

‘Without making major changes to the squad, he boldly broke away from the previous manager’s style, scoring a total of 4 goals and not conceding a single goal, showcasing a perfectly balanced offense and defense.’

‘Intense forward pressure from the edge of the opponent’s penalty box to the halfway line.’

‘Delicate tactics to create space by exchanging short passes and shifting left and right, strategically injecting attacking players into that space to gain numerical superiority.’

‘And even fast and decisive substitution timing.’

The media, both reputable and sensationalist, had largely stopped discussing the search for a new manager.

The morning after the third unexpected victory, the sports sections of national daily newspapers were dominated by articles analyzing and praising the tactics of the young, seemingly genius manager who had transformed Burnley’s style by 180 degrees, and predicting that he would sign a formal contract depending on the outcome of the next game against Aston Villa.

“It was just good luck.”

Hyungmin, who glanced at the newspapers Helena handed him, downplayed his success.

“Everton was in disarray because their manager was on the verge of resigning, and Brentford was newly promoted to the Premier League for the first time. The Carabao Cup win was just fortunate timing after a managerial change.”

“But wasn’t the team’s performance good?”

At Helena’s question, Hyungmin shook his head.

“Right now, the opposing teams are struggling because they lack data on us, but as the season progresses and our tactics become predictable, it will become increasingly difficult. Furthermore, our squad is too thin to make significant tactical adjustments through player substitutions. The Premier League is unforgiving.”

“What if you adapt the tactics again?”

“I’ve already deviated so much from Sean’s existing tactics that it’s revolutionary compared to last season. If I tinker with the tactics further, it will all fall apart.”

Hyungmin shook his head and said with conviction.

“What we need to do now is accumulate as many points as possible in the first half of the season while our strategies are still fresh, so that we can secure a comfortable position and avoid relegation worries even if we struggle in the second half.”

Hyungmin smiled, recalling the earlier phone call.

“Or are you going to provide funds to sign new players?”

At Hyungmin’s playful question, Helena shook her head.

“Right now, I’m struggling to secure funds just to keep the club running. I can’t afford any new signings.”

“See?”

Helena chuckled at Hyungmin’s response, as if she expected it.

“Anyway, it’s a chaotic club that can’t even properly support the manager, but are you still willing to accept the official manager position?”

“So, why me?”

At Hyungmin’s question, Helena paused for a moment before answering.

“Well… I believe that if someone is already doing a good job, there’s no need to find a replacement. You took charge of the first team without any preparation, and you’re performing far better than we anticipated.”

As Hyungmin nodded slightly, Helena continued.

“I’ve heard that 30 points is usually enough to avoid relegation, and 40 points guarantees safety. You’ve already secured 6 points in 2 games. It would be a huge success for Burnley if they could get about 30 more points in the remaining 36 games.”

Hyungmin hesitated for a long time at Helena’s honest answer, and Helena waited patiently without pressuring him.

After a moment of contemplation, Hyungmin finally looked up at Helena.

“Okay. Let’s do it. What’s the worst that can happen? I get fired, right?”

“Hmph. I hope that doesn’t happen. Anyway, thank you. I look forward to working with you in the future, Manager Kim.”

“I look forward to working with you too, Helena.”

The two shook hands firmly.

Additional truths, such as that other managers had declined the offer, or that Hyungmin’s salary would be significantly lower than other managers, remained unspoken.