Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 35

35: Time of Pain and Endurance

Hyungmin, the temporary captain and key defender, still mulling over the absurd yellow card he’d received, spoke up.

“This might be for the best. Tell Jacob and Ashley to get ready.”

“A substitution?” Arthur asked.

Hyungmin nodded. “Everyone’s tiring quickly because of the rain, and Norwich doesn’t have good replacements. Jacob will take Brownhill’s place, and we’ll switch Chris with Ashley.”

“Alright.” To replace the central striker and central midfielder, Arthur hurried to the bench to give brief instructions, then rushed to the fourth official.

As Ashley Barnes and Jacob Ramsey hastily removed their tracksuits and grabbed their uniforms, Hyungmin looked at the scoreboard.

Fifty-one minutes into the second half.

*Still plenty of time,* Hyungmin thought, watching the Norwich players preparing to drop deeper as instructed by their manager, Dean Smith.

The game that followed was uneventful.

As if content with a 1-1 draw, Norwich packed their own penalty box with seven or eight players to disrupt Burnley’s attack.

Even when they won the ball, only the forward, Adam Idah, and one or two others would venture forward.

Most of the Norwich players didn’t even approach the halfway line, as if it were a minefield.

So, it was an obvious move for Burnley to bring in Ashley Barnes, their most combative and aggressive central striker. Barnes actively repaid the manager’s faith.

Seventy-six minutes into the second half.

Ashley Barnes, battling Norwich’s central defenders and midfielders with his arms and legs as if soccer had morphed into mixed martial arts, shook off the players clinging to him and connected with Jacob Ramsey’s corner kick, scoring a header.

“Uwaaaaaa!”

The veteran striker, who hadn’t had many opportunities since Hyungmin took over as manager because Chris Wood had taken his place, ran to the stands where the away fans were gathered and cheered.

Hyungmin looked at the substitute players on the bench who were applauding and cheering, smiling at Arthur, who was approaching him.

Exactly nine minutes later, Hyungmin’s smile turned to frustration and despair.

Burnley only had to defend, and Norwich, with ten men, had to score.

In the continuing rain, amidst the relentless support of the tired away team and the home fans, Norwich clung on until the end.

It was unclear where the breakdown occurred, but Norwich finally managed to push the equalizing goal into Burnley’s net amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the home fans.

Norwich’s goalkeeper, Angus Gunn, sent a long ball to the front, which found Dimitris Giannoulis, a substitute left midfielder.

Giannoulis immediately crossed towards Burnley’s goal.

Normally, the central defender could easily clear the ball, or the goalkeeper could catch or punch it.

But Kieran Dowell, Norwich’s right midfielder, squeezed through the gap, desperately jumped, pushing past James Tarkowski and Nathan Collins, and got his head on the ball.

A header shot from close range left Burnley’s goalkeeper, Nick Pope, no chance to react.

Burnley, who had been struggling with 1 win and 3 losses in the last 4 games, had to settle for a draw against Norwich.

***

What awaited Hyungmin upon his return to the lodging after the painful draw with Norwich was another piece of bad news.

[…RB Leipzig’s manager, Jesse Marsch, has resigned. The club expressed gratitude for Jesse Marsch’s dedication and announced that they have accepted his resignation. RB Leipzig recorded 7 wins, 4 draws, and 6 losses in the last 17 games under Jesse Marsch’s leadership. In particular, they have only earned 18 points out of a possible 42 in the 14 Bundesliga games they played.]

Late-night sports news.

The commentator elaborated on the caster’s words.

[It seems that the recent 4-game losing streak had a big impact. He couldn’t help but be compared to his predecessor, Julian Nagelsmann. Although the manager has expressed his intention to resign, it is more accurate to say that he was dismissed by the club.]

[RB Leipzig, who finished second last season, are currently in 11th place in the Bundesliga, performing far below expectations. The frontrunner in the candidate pool to replace Jesse Marsch is…]

Hyungmin, unable to listen anymore, turned off the TV and checked the time.

It was 10 p.m. in England, so it was 11 p.m. in Germany, an hour later.

It was too late to call, and frankly, he wasn’t sure if Jesse was in a state to receive a call.

In fact, they hadn’t been able to connect properly since Hyungmin came to Burnley because they were both busy.

After hesitating for a long time, Hyungmin picked up his cell phone and started sending a text message to a familiar name.

[I heard the news. Are you okay?]

After a long wait without a reply, Hyungmin was about to give up and go to sleep when his cell phone vibrated.

[Thanks. Can we talk for a moment?]

Hyungmin immediately pressed the call button.

“Jesse. It’s me, Kim.”

“Of course, I know who it is! Hahaha, long time no see!”

Hyungmin was relieved by the bright voice on the other end.

“I heard the news.”

“Ah. Well…”

“Are you okay?”

“Um… I’m not going to say I’m okay right now, but I think I’ll be okay soon. I’m better than I thought? It’s hard to explain.”

Hyungmin hesitated, unsure what to say to the voice mixed with regret, relief, and bitterness.

“Ah, I see. I contacted you because I was thinking of you after seeing the news.”

“Haha, I see. By the way, you’re doing very well these days? At this rate, I think I’ll see you in the Champions League next season?”

Hyungmin smiled and played along with Jesse Marsch, who was changing the subject.

“Haha, it’s not that level. You know, small clubs like us. The squad is thin, so we’ll start to fall behind in the second half of the season.”

“I liked your honesty, but I hated that aspect of you. How can a person be so hopeless?”

“Please say that I’m not hopeless, but that I’m facing reality. Hope doesn’t score goals.”

“But hope makes the players run one step further.”

Hyungmin nodded slightly at the sincere advice from the senior manager who had freely shared his knowledge with the young junior, even though they weren’t particularly close as the first team manager and youth team coach during their time at RB Salzburg.

“…Is that so?”

“That’s right. Wouldn’t that be the case? I don’t think I’m in a position to give you advice. Hahaha!”

“Hey, that’s not true.”

After that, the two chatted for a while about the situation at Burnley and the recent news about RB Salzburg alumni such as Karim Adeyemi and Nicolas Seiwald.

Hyungmin, glancing at the clock, realized it was time to wrap up the conversation.

“Um… I think I have to go now.”

“Ah, it’s already that late. You have to go to work tomorrow, right? I can sleep more. Hahaha!”

Hyungmin chuckled.

“Please say hello to Kim for me. She’s okay now, right?”

“Of course. She still goes to the hospital for regular check-ups, but she says she’s okay now.”

“That’s a relief. Are the kids doing well?”

Hyungmin smiled at the memory of Jesse Marsch’s wife, Kim, and their three children, who often invited Hyungmin, who was living an isolated life in a foreign country, and fed him.

“They’re doing well. Come visit if you’re curious!”

“No, rather, have your family come to Burnley. There’s really nothing here, but anyway.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to Kim. Well, good night, Manager Kim. I’ll hang up now!”

The phone hung up with a thud.

It’s always hard to hang up the phone, especially after a personal conversation.

Feeling grateful to Jesse for ending it so neatly, Hyungmin tossed his cell phone carelessly on the table and lay down on the narrow bed.

He wouldn’t be able to escape the lingering feelings of the game tonight either.

But he had to get some sleep for tomorrow.

***

Next morning.

“Drawing against Norwich is painful, but it’s not the worst result. We got one point.”

Hyungmin, having called the first team coaching staff (just two people), addressed them in the conference room.

Hyungmin chuckled as he saw fitness coach Paulo Morais nodding and assistant coach Arthur shaking his head in dissatisfaction.

“What’s so funny?” the grumpy old British man asked bluntly.

Hyungmin shook his head. “It’s nothing. Anyway, we’re gathered here to discuss the upcoming schedule since the past is the past.”

Hyungmin displayed the prepared schedule on the large screen.

“Um…”

The other two groaned as they looked at the schedule.

Today is December 6th.

Starting with the Chelsea game on December 11th, there were 7 games scheduled in just 22 days until the Wolverhampton game on January 1st.

It was a grueling stretch of playing one game every three days.

Usually, the day after a game is a recovery day.

The afternoon before the game is for video analysis and tactical instructions.

Therefore, after playing a game, recovering, and training for only half a day or a day, they would immediately play the next game.

For a team with a thin squad like Burnley, even the loss of one or two key players during this period could have a serious impact.

“First of all, we need to thoroughly focus on recovery training during December. I’ll leave this part to Paulo.”

The young Portuguese fitness coach nodded.

“And the afternoon physical training that we’ve been doing will be suspended during December. I think it’ll be too much to do physical training and play games at the same time. Instead, we’ll do a short 1-hour 4-on-4 or 5-on-5 mini-game to maintain the sense of the players who didn’t play in the game.”

Hyungmin explained, filling in the training schedule on the screen.

“Paulo, after discussing with Simon [the team doctor], if you think there’s a lot of fatigue, you can give a player a training exemption or a day off at your own discretion.”

“Can I make my own judgment?”

It is common for injured players to come to the club training ground on training days under the pretext of rehabilitation.

Paulo asked, slightly surprised by the manager’s words that he could authorize a vacation.

“Of course. Anyway, Paulo knows the players’ physical condition best, so talk to Simon and give them a vacation if there’s anything that bothers you. You can take preemptive measures if necessary. Just let me and Arthur know after you give them a vacation.”

Paulo Morais nodded.

“And…”

Arthur, who was watching the manager hesitate, asked, “And?”