“We live, breathe and eat football 24 hours a day in Glasgow,’’ reflects the Crystal Palace manager on the eve of this Carling Cup quarter-final against Ferguson’s Manchester United. “Growing up in Glasgow there’s really not a lot else to do. If you aren’t playing football, you’re watching it. If you’re not watching it, you’re talking about it and you’d better have an opinion on it. "I’ve got four uncles who were all around the table, with dad and grandad, talking football. I was under the table, picking up ideas.
“They talked about this wonderful guy called Jock Stein. They talked about Alex Ferguson coming to England and doing ever so well. I found out about the coaches he admired like Walter Smith and Archie Knox. "When anybody talked about them, I listened intently, picking up information. Scotland is renowned for good coaches.’’
Another is building his reputation in south London. At 11.29am on Monday, Freedman sprints from his neat training-ground office, a manager on a mission, arriving spot on 11.30 for a team meeting in an upstairs room by the canteen. “It’s all about timing,’’ smiles the former Scotland striker as he darts past, clipboard in hand. Inside the room, there’s a board covered with words like “ruthless”, “disciplined”, “hard-working” and “courageous’’. Freedman sends his players out at 11.40, sending them past the sign that reads “determined to succeed” and on to the training pitch.
At 11.56 Freedman’s assistant, that wise owl of English football, Lennie Lawrence, appears, hands hidden in thick gloves, watching intently as the manager conducts the first drill. The session is quick-paced yet instructions such as the frequent “touch and play’’ are easily assimilated. “The very first words I heard as a kid at QPR was Don Howe saying ‘simplicity is genius’,’’ recalls Freedman. “He was standing there, just back from the [1990] World Cup and that stuck in my mind. That’s the way I try to coach. Simple. Simple warm-up, simple technique drills. The game is definitely played simply – so coach simply.”
His coaching is certainly timed to the split second. Over breakfast and lunch that day, the 37 year-old’s wristwatch and stopwatch hardly stops bleeping. Training is serious, scientific. He’s spent time at Milanello, AC Milan’s famous retreat, admiring their commitment. “Their players dedicated themselves to training day in, day out. The professionalism was fantastic. They worked so hard. "I saw one very famous player [Paolo Maldini] doing 20 sprints in the sand and by the end the physio was lifting him up to take him back to the treatment table. "He was in his late thirties and giving everything. I want my players to aspire to that hard work of the top players.’’
Only 10 months into his new role, Freedman is a manager who leaves nothing to chance, who has installed a sprinting machine in the gym that cost six figures, who shouts firmly at a player to right an upturned cone. “Small details count,” Freedman tells him.
As Lawrence takes a shadow game at 12.45, Freedman nips from the sidelines to have words with individual players, honing their footwork, their positioning and their minds. Wilfried Zaha, shimmering with pacy right-wing promise, could mature into a wide player of note if he absorbs Freedman’s advice. “When I see something wrong I’ll step in,’’ he continues. “I’d never ------- them. That doesn’t motivate them any more. Persuasion is a big tool I use. I can’t make average players wonderful but I can make them a bit better, and hungrier if they listen.
"The problem I’m experiencing is they’ve become better but have plateaued a bit. Players get a small bit of success and think they’ve arrived. That’s what I’m looking forward to picking Sir Alex’s brain on. He has created an environment of hunger and desire at Old Trafford.’’Nurturing some of Palace’s prospects has been complicated by certain agents seeking to move them on. “My experience of 95 per cent of agents is that they have no morals. They don’t understand they are dealing with vulnerable kids. I’ve got kids at this club who have agents at 14. It’s ridiculous.
“I have two players of 18, 19, in and around the first team and they are asking for my help because the agents are taking some money off their first contract. I’ve witnessed the tears. "I spend hours convincing them this is the right club. Agents are ruining kids’ lives and there is no law to stop them. I’m asking the FA: ‘please help, put some rules and regulations on what they can and can’t do’.”
For all the agents’ tentacles, the camaraderie is good at Palace. At 1.20pm, the players walk from the field, chatting away, returning to the dressing-room. A pair of boots soon come flying through the open window. Full of spirit, Palace cannot wait for this evening.
“The players will come away better from Old Trafford,’’ adds Freedman. “This is a night that also belongs to the fans because they’ve stuck by us through administration and relegation. They can go and enjoy the company of the United fans in their big, fantastic stadium. “I owe it to the players and fans who have put me up against Sir Alex. It will be fantastic to be in his company. Win, lose or draw I’ll walk away from Old Trafford a better manager. I crave to get here continuously. I’d love to manage in the top leagues. I want to work hard to have more of these nights. “Do I switch off from football? No. It takes over my life. My wife has a go at me. We have four young kids. I try to have a balance but it’s a constant battle.
"But I don’t want to have 25 years in management, look back and say, ‘I’d didn’t see my kids grow up’. I go to certain school plays. I miss a few. Four kids is a lot of nativity plays but if you’re smart you get the teacher to get them all in one play.’’ Clever man, promising manager.