Pat Nevin - From 'The Accidental Footballer' to learning how to survive the beautiful game

I got the chance to have a chat with former, and accidental, footballer, CEO and now pundit Pat Nevin for a great chat about his incredible career and some of the key lessons he's learnt on the way.

In this episode we talk all about:

The importance of being true to himself Using weaknesses as strengths Knowing when to use, and when not to use a strong personalty Influences from managersHandling nerves (or not having them in the first place)PR and dealing with the press and media When to tell the truth, but not all of the truth Managing relationships in football Building and working on trust Managing personalities as a player and a CEO Importance of empathy, listening and self-depreciation Lessons from working in the media Inspiration from his son Simon

Pat has had an incredible career, in his first book he labels himself 'The Accidental Footballer' which covers his early career which took him from Clyde FC in Scotland down to the Chelsea and then Everton and playing for his national team Scotland.

Despite having no real intentions of becoming a footballer, Pat had plenty of other interests like the arts, academia and listening and writing about music.

Through the 70's and 80's he stuck out from the crowd as not being a 'typical footballer'. And in this episode we hear how Pat would never let that get to him and how he relied on his Glaswegian upbringing and strong personality.

When he came back up to Scotland after an enjoyable period at Chelsea, Everton and Tranmere Rovers as well as being Chairman of the English PFA, Pat joined Kilmarnock, but it was the lure of being part of running a football club that took him to Motherwell FC where he would be the first person to ever hold the title as 'Player - CEO'.

There are some amazing stories from this period of Pat's life in his second book - 'Football and how to survive it'.

There are some incredible insights and lessons on communication and leadership in this conversation and I really enjoyed listening to Pat share them with me.

How to get hold of Pat's books:

The Accidental Footballer

Football and how to survive it

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.