Pulis urges managers to prioritise their own fitness after Kompany health scare
Tony Pulis said Vincent Kompany collapsed at Bayern Munich's training ground during a recent health scare that has been diagnosed as meningeal irritation, and used the incident to warn managers about the physical and mental toll of the job. Pulis told BBC Sport the episode was a reminder that managers must put their own fitness first.
Pulis recalled a long history of serious health incidents involving managers, citing the death of Scotland boss Jock Stein after a World Cup qualifier against Wales in 1985 and heart problems suffered by Graeme Souness, Sir Alex Ferguson, Gerard Houllier, Joe Kinnear and Harry Redknapp. He said the modern game has changed in many ways but remains an all-consuming occupation. Pulis added he only recognised the full workload and pressure of management when he took his first managerial post at Bournemouth in 1992 after serving as a player-coach under Harry Redknapp.
Describing his early years in charge, Pulis said he took on a wide range of responsibilities, from scouting and player signings to organising staff across first-team, reserve and youth levels within club budgets. He viewed first-team results as his primary responsibility, maintained a hands-on coaching approach and found the demands relentless. That pressure intensified when results dipped and criticism was directed at him, a dynamic he said remains unchanged for managers today.
Pulis admitted his personal management during those early years was poor, pointing to a diet of motorway stops, fish and chip shops, half-time pies and convenience sandwiches while travelling to watch players. He described how the strain of being solely responsible for weekly performances built up and affected his wellbeing. The turning point, he said, came after a conversation with an Australian triathlete before he left Bournemouth in 1994, which convinced him to prioritise his health.
After that discussion Pulis resolved that in any future job he would adopt a more manageable lifestyle and ‘‘put my own fitness first.’’ He established a routine of working out early every morning before breakfast at the club he managed, sometimes limiting sessions to walking and stretching when necessary. At Gillingham in 1999 he ran his first London Marathon and subsequently undertook other endurance challenges for charity, including cycling from John O' Groats to Land's End, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and rowing from Tower Bridge to the Eiffel Tower.
Pulis said the increased physical exertion improved his sleep, as being tired helped him avoid lying awake worrying about work. He also described non-physical measures he used to protect his mental health: he avoids reading press coverage about himself or his teams, relies on trusted staff he can confide in and reserves Sundays for family time. He recalled driving back to the south coast on Saturday nights after matches to reflect and begin preparing for the next game while keeping Sundays entirely for his family and for watching his son Anthony play football when he was young.
Pulis said he passes the same advice on to young managers, urging them to maintain their enthusiasm for self-care because the job's constant stress makes it dangerous not to, and acknowledged that many are willing to accept the risks he once accepted. West Brom captain Darren Fletcher presented Pulis with a Ship's Decanter at the club's training ground to commemorate his 1,000th match as a manager, the day before they drew 1-1 with his old club Stoke.
Pulis noted that support for managers’ health has improved, pointing to the League Managers' Association's 'Fit To Manage' programme offering frequent health testing and to clubs' medical staff now attending to coaching personnel as well as players; he said a manager's life can still be lonely but the help available is at a different level compared with the start of his career. Tony Pulis was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
