English coach quit in crazy gamble for role 'Guardiola couldn't have changed'
He gave up a "comfortable" job at a Premier League academy for a massive pay cut in Cambodia where he had to clear cows and chickens off the pitch before training. And he was sacked in a 20-second Zoom call.
But Alistair Heath has no regrets about his 18 months of "work experience" in south east Asia which left such a mark he now has the temple of Angkor Wat tattooed on a wrist and a tiger on an arm. The former semi-pro player, 39, started coaching Buxton Under-9s before working with Matlock Town reserves and Bromsgrove Rovers.
But after a spell with the U-14s at the Leicester City academy, he was offered the job at Cambodian Premier League team Angkor Tigers in December 2021. "I've always wanted to be a manager but I've not played professionally so it was never going to be easy to get that first job," said the Birmingham City fan.
"For three weeks, I thought, 'I'm on a decent wage, category one academy, brand new training ground. It's easy. It's comfortable'. But I can't do comfortable. So the only way I'm going to find out is when I land and I found out in a very short space of time."
The reality was no training ground, no showers and sometimes no kitman so Heath had to take a tuktuk to his house to pick up the kit before training. "And you might have any kind of animal on the pitch - cows, dogs, chickens, swans," he said. "Roy of the Rovers stuff but in a completely different way, everything done on a shoestring."
Transfer news live - Fernandez flying in for Chelsea and Man Utd land Sabitzer
Local players in Siem Reap are paid about $250 a month although foreigners, such as former Cardiff defender Ben Nugent, are on a bit more. "I don't mind telling you I was offered initially $1,000 and we managed to get it to $1,500," said Heath.
Cambodia has left a mark on Alistair Heath - he has a tattoo of the Angkor Wat templeWith a standard comparable to the Conference Premier, his Tigers finished second from bottom in 2022 before cost-cutting saw up to 15 players leave and "we were left with the kids". After an "atrocious" League Cup campaign, he was sacked by chairman Akihiro Kato four games into the new season in September after a 3-0 home defeat.
"I was asked to go on a Zoom call on a Thursday night and I knew straight away," he recalled. "The Japanese chairman said, 'I'm thinking about the future of his club and terminating your contract'. I didn't hang around to chat any longer.
Alister Heath spent 18 months at Cambodia Premier League team Angkor Tigers"It was actually a massive relief because there was no money or structure. Pep Guardiola couldn't have influenced it. Now I look back, it was one hell of a ride and worth the gamble.
"And I got the tattoos because where I work is my love. You have to learn. I can relate to Ange Postecoglou and the road he's taken. Who'd have thought he would be Celtic and then Tottenham manager when he left Australia? Anything's possible."
Alistair Heath has compared his managerial journey to Tottenham's Aussie boss Ange PostecoglouHeath is looking for a job "with the right club" and recently applied for the posts at Colchester United and Lincoln City. "After Cambodia, no job in any league will phase me," he said.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
