Mark Briggs introduced to the Birmingham press

Attractive, horrible, nasty soccer all at the same time.

Today the Birmingham Legion formally presented its new head coach Mark Briggs to the press. The entire press conference can be viewed here, but the questions being posed (especially mine for some reason!) are very difficult to hear and many were not even picked up for closed captioning.

First off, Jay Heaps talked a little about the hiring process: "We went through an extensive search, interviewed a lot of different people, but Mark stood out pretty much really early in that he's got excellent USL experience, not just coaching but also having success in this cell. What also stood out was his process, very, very detail-oriented, tactical acumen but also how he builds culture...He develops [players] into a unit and a great group of men."

Mark's own statement as to why he chose to come to the Magic City: "When I spoke to Jay there was an immediate connection. Not just about football and about philosophies...And then you look at the rush, you look at the quality, you look at the facilities and the buildings you guys are in. Everything's here to be successful, you know." He added, "It;s about pushing the level. It's about making the players aware of where we want to go and giving them a vision that they can get behind and feel a part of."

Jeff Speegle of ABC33/40 asked about what he is doing to build a culture. "You hear music playing? When I first got here, there was no music playing. You have to enjoy where you come to work. You have to enjoy what you do. For me this is the best job in the world, you know, and hopefully my energy can rub off on those guys. But we're under pressure. That pressure's a privilege...Enjoy being here, enjoy being a part of a special organization and enjoy what you do."

That music was not just inside the training building, by the way, it was also out on the training field in the shape of an enormous boombox blasting out South American tunes at, I think, the instigation of Tiago Suarez who seemed to have sole possession of the box (personally, if it's not Carlos Santana, it doesn't count).

WBRC's Jonathan Hoppe asked Mark about what he has seen from the team so far. He was quick to give credit. "It's really important to give Tommy credit for the prices that him and Jay have put in pace. And then also give Jay and Avi (Eric Avila) incredible credit for what they've done over the last three weeks. It's been really difficult for them, you know, and they've done an incredible job getting the team positive, getting the team results. So now, for me coming in, it's made my life a little bit easier, you know, but it's very important that we don't just throw all sorts of information at them and confuse things. So it's about being simple, giving them some clarity."

He was also asked to compare the two Birminghams. Not sure how serious he was but he said it was part of the decision and that he feels like home from home. Following from that he was asked about potentially returning to England to coach (as had been expected given interviews he gave earlier this year after being released by Sacramento Republic). His answer was simple: "My vision as a coach, I wanted to be in an organization where I believed in what they were trying to do. And whether that's in England or America or wherever that is. And when I spoke to Jay, I believed in what Jay wants to do."

For my part I wanted to know how he felt the Legion's current roster meshes with what he wants to instill in the team. "Thats' a great question [well, of course!]. I think first and foremost the talent on the roster is there for everyone to see. And then, I think from a playing standpoint we want to value the ball, we want to be courageous. We want to have courage. and what I mean by courage is to continue to be vulnerable. Don't hide behind people. Whether you make a mistake or not, I just said to the guys actually, I'll never scream at you if you make a mistake and you're trying to pass the ball. But if you don't react and you throw up your arms and you blame somebody else, I'm gonna crush you." Whoa.

He went on: "I want an attractive style and when we don't have the ball, to be quite honest, I want us to be horrible. You know, I want us to be nasty to play against. Okay, I want good men off the field that are humble and treat people the right way. But when you cross that white line, you've got to represent them and we've got to die for the crest that's on our chest."

Going on from that I asked a question that I had been wanting to pose since I first got an inkling that he was coming here, namely, will be playing a 3 or 5-man back line as at Sacramento, or would he stick with 4 at the back. He was a little vague on that point. "I think my philosophy is about principles, so the system kind of 'it is what it is.' It can be a four, it can be a three. It can be a different system. It's about...utilizing the players that I currently have and recognizing their strengths and weaknesses."

I also asked about additional coaching staff changes. Jay handled that one saying that there will be some new staff but that they will not be on-field coaches but rather technical and analytical folks. He didn't give any names but there will be solid MLS experience added in those positions. That also meant that the team will be looking for playing talent that's coming available in the summer transfer window, which is not too far off with the European season ending.

From observing Mark's second training session I can say that much of what he was describing is clearly already true. More on that tomorrow in the weekend preview!

(cross-posted from the Football Forge)