Life beyond the Premier League: Curle brings psychology of Crazy Gang to sort out Carlisle

Keith Curle says black and minority managers must obtain the right qualifications in order to find work

Keith Curle has lifted Carlisle out of the relegation places (Getty Images)

When Keith Curle talks about a “make-or-break time”, it has nothing to do with the pressure of taking over a club who are rock bottom of the Football League, as he did at Carlisle United in September.

Instead, he is recalling when he stepped into the Wimbledon dressing room as a 24-year-old in 1988 and was handed the captain’s armband by Bobby Gould. It was a harsh environment and one quality was valued above all else: honesty.

“It probably taught me one thing, being captain of Wimbledon: when we had team meetings you had to say what you were thinking,” he recalls. “You didn’t step outside and call somebody a whatever. You had the opportunity to say it to their face.”

It is a lesson he is putting to use at Brunton Park. The former England defender has lifted Carlisle out of the relegation places by “simplifying” their game on the pitch, with echoes of Plough Lane off it.

Curle joined the 'Crazy Gang' after they won the 1988 FA Cup (Getty) (Getty Images)

“One of the first things we did was a ‘truth and honesty’ session, whereby two players stand up and each is given 15 seconds to say something positive about the [other] and something negative – things like not being punctual, not trying hard enough in training.”

He then split his squad into two hypothetical groups – one facing relegation, the other having climbed clear – and each had to name where they were going wrong or right. “The players in one dressing room were in relegation trouble and it was infighting, squabbling, poor lines of communication, lack of organisation and discipline etc,” he says. The end product was “we created our own changing-room mentality and guidelines”.

When Curle faced a real disciplinary problem, with six players caught drinking on Boxing Day less than 48 hours before the 3-0 defeat to York, he put those guidelines to use. “I spoke to the other players and asked them what was deemed acceptable by them,” he said. The punishment, including a fine of two weeks’ wages, “was agreed by the players for the players”.

The result of all this is a Carlisle side playing with spirit, organisation and unity, and Curle has also endeared himself to the club’s supporters with his plain speaking – notably when he described now departed midfielder Alex Marrow as a “sick-note”.

Curle was Neil Warnock's No 2 in the Premier League at QPR (Getty) (Getty Images)

Curle, 51, has managed Mansfield, Chester, Torquay and Notts County – a different world from the Premier League, where he was Neil Warnock’s No 2 at QPR – yet he sees the potential of Carlisle, whose only top-flight campaign was 40 years ago.

“On Boxing Day, we took just shy of 2,000 supporters to Morecambe. A lot of Championship clubs would envy that. The only hardship is getting the right characters to come to Carlisle. Because it is north of Manchester a lot of people think you have to pay them extra money.”

During the 19-month wait after his sacking by Notts County, Curle was surprised his application for a couple of jobs did not even earn an interview yet he is not convinced by a potential “Rooney Rule” for minority candidates.

“Somebody has got to show me evidence that giving them interviews is going to lead to more managers getting opportunities,” he says.

“First and foremost we need to make sure we advertise the need to get the qualifications required and I don’t think there are enough black, Asian and mixed race managers with the correct qualifications.”

He is one of four black or mixed race managers in the league pyramid – “probably the most that we have had” – yet as he adds: “It is our job now to show we are able to compete and get results.” Up in Cumbria, he has not made a bad start.