Alfred Johansson turned 36 on Sunday, but even on a fixture-free weekend it was a working birthday for the Motherwell manager. He supervised training at Dalziel Park before celebrating later at home with his wife Amanda and baby daughter Freya.
Replacing fellow Scandinavian Jens Berthel Askou in the Fir Park hotseat looked like a major summer challenge, and matching the football the Premiership side played last season looked an equally tall order. Less than three months into the job, Johansson has overseen a seamless transition. Motherwell's only league defeat so far this season was a 1-0 loss at Ibrox last weekend, and it took last season's Europa League finalists Freiburg to stop them reaching the Conference League group stage. Supporters continue to turn out in massive numbers.
Motherwell were knocked out of the Premier Sports Cup by Stenhousemuir, which explains the blank weekend, but that exit came in the midst of an otherwise memorable European run.
Feeling the love
Johansson laughs when asked if he is feeling the love in Lanarkshire. "Yes I do, almost to an extent that I, what is it you say, blush," he said. "I've been here for what feels like 15 minutes and I get all that love. It's just so early to feel that love."
"Everyone's been so nice to me and my wife since arriving, whether it be people in the street, people at the club, supporters in the stands. It's been incredibly welcoming."
Amanda had the final say on her husband's job offer. She was eight months pregnant and the couple were living in the Norwegian city of Trondheim when the decision was made.
"We'd already moved together three years ago from Denmark to Norway and, of course, the next move we discussed together," Johansson said. "We have to agree so it's not just me going and, when you're becoming parents, obviously it's another thing to consider."
"Let's just say the pregnancy was one of the points we really talked about before deciding to go because, obviously, you normally want stability and calm and safety at the last stages. She's tough, though, so she took it and, yes, it was challenging at times, but everyone's been exceptional here in Scotland to help us, both at the club and at the hospital, so we got taken really good care of."
He added that Amanda went over time with the pregnancy, and that the birth ended up falling during a spell of friendlies rather than competitive matches.
A hectic period
Asked whether the past few months had felt helter-skelter given everything happening in his personal and professional life, Johansson said: "Yes it has been like this because, as a manager, you are constantly focused on the next training, next game and, when the transfer window is open, you spend a lot of time on players in and out."
"And when you're new in a club you're even more switched on because you have to learn people's names, people's attributes and who does what, so it's been a hectic period for sure. Plus becoming a father for the first time, so there's been a lot going on."
From 'laptop manager' to Fir Park
In previous jobs as a youth coach at Copenhagen and then in charge of the first team at Rosenborg, Johansson was sometimes labelled a laptop manager. He laughed at the tag. "If you're asking have I studied football a lot, then the answer is yes," he said. "It's less now that I'm operating at a senior level and now that I'm a father. When I was alone, before Amanda and before Freya, I was probably totally consumed by it whereas today it's a little bit different."
"I've decided that I want to go for a professional career as a coach to see how far I can take it but I also want to have a family, so I guess at some point there will be compromises."
Playing days and coaching path
Johansson did not progress as a player. "I started when I was nine and stopped when I was around 19 or 20," he said. "In my home town of Enkoping, 45 minutes from Stockholm, I played in the best team for one season when I was 16 but I wasn't a starter, I wasn't a good player. I was small and scared of tackling so no big playing career, no."
He began thinking about coaching at 16 or 17, starting out with the local Under-12 team while also working in business and sales. "After three years that flipped. I realised I was quite good at it and I needed to pursue it," he said. He went on to study sport science and coaching at university in Stockholm.
"When it comes to learning about football, I think I'm a kind of a sponge in that sense. I learn a lot from others, from listening to people but also observing other teams and thinking for myself," he said. "It doesn't matter if you're a football manager or a company executive or any sort of leader, if you want to perform over time you need to renew yourself. I feel bad if I don't learn. That's when I feel stressed for real. If I'm only executing, I'm not moving. I need to develop."
Knew of Motherwell before the call
Motherwell identified Johansson through a data-driven search to replace Askou. "I was a serious football nerd, growing up, even before coaching, playing all the games you'd imagine, knowing all the names of teams from all over the place," he said. "I know much more ABOUT Motherwell now but I've known there was a football club here for a long time."
"It's really impressive what this club has done over the last couple of years and I think there's a lot of steps still to be taken which makes the project even more exciting. A new training ground for example. They've chosen a path and they've been sticking to it, all done with a lot of calm and composure. That's what you're looking for as a manager."
Eyes on an unlikely title
Motherwell flirted with a title challenge at one point last season, and Johansson was asked whether that push could be sustained. He pointed to Sweden's Allsvenskan, where Sirius, one of the league's smallest clubs, currently sit top with little of the season left, and where Mjallby won the title the year before. "Why's that not possible here?" he said.
"I think it is possible. But when's that going to happen? We can't put a date on that or an expectation. We have to see. But our focus is not on that. That's the biggest mistake you can make. You have to stay in the here and now. We'll get what we deserve, based on what we do."
