Ed Brand's evolution from Chelsea Academy coach to Loan manager

Testing yourself in a completely new environment can be a daunting prospect from some, but overcoming unexpected hurdles or challenges will also accelerate personal development.

To become a truly adaptable coach you sometimes have to tread outside your comfort zone.

For Ed Brand, Chelsea through and through having spent 22 of the previous 26 years at the clubs’ world class Academy – first as a player and subsequently as a coach – that crossroads moment arrived at end of January 2023.

His former colleague Jody Morris had been offered the Head Coach role at Swindon Town and was keen for his close friend to join as his assistant with the League 2 club.

Happy in his dream role as Chelsea’s Under-18 head coach, there was suddenly a testing choice to make…

Brand's journey from Academy player to coach

“My heart was torn, as I loved my job. It was the middle of the season, and leaving my players at that point was far from ideal. But I felt it was an opportunity which may not come around again, and I did want to test myself in senior football,” says Brand as he reflects on that moment.

“The pull of working with Jody again also made the decision less difficult than it might have been,” he adds. “He’s a top coach, and we knew we worked fantastically well together having enjoyed great success for a couple of years with the Chelsea Under-18s team, winning back-to-back FA Youth Cups

“My contract with Chelsea had to be terminated to comply with EFL rules, but it helped that Chelsea said they would keep my role open, which also allowed other coaches to step up. [Director of Football Development and Operations] Neil Bath, who is someone that’s always supported me and my career, was brilliant. He said the door was always open for me return if I wanted to, which provided me with security.

Brand's leap of faith to Swindon Town

It was an exciting new project but three successive defeats at the outset of Morris’ time in charge at the County Ground ensured the duo’s honeymoon period was short-lived.

Perspective was needed though, as they had inherited a very young squad, with many players having little to no experience at first team level.

Balancing the need to restore damaged morale, improve results, and imprint their own fresh ideas on the group at the same time was a challenging process, but the duo quickly learnt on the job.

“I picked up a lot from Jody on how he dealt with matters at the end of games,” admits Brand. “The nature of a defeat shapes how you go about addressing the group and dealing with the players. He was always very honest and sometimes quite upbeat if he saw a lot that he was happy with. It had to be that way, dealing with such a young group.

“Going in there and delivering the hairdryer treatment or throwing teacups around wasn't what that squad needed. They required self-assurance and belief to keep going and persevering, because in football things will turn.

“On the flip side if we’d thrown points away through naivety or avoidable errors then those situations had to be addressed,” he continues. “It’s our job to go through what happened and show why it isn’t acceptable.

“This wasn't too dissimilar to how we'd work at Chelsea, where standards are so high and winning is what you need to do. At Academy level you're trying to prepare these 17- and 18-year-olds to be in our first team, or to have careers in the game, and they must be ready to be told when something isn’t good enough.”

On a tactical level Swindon’s existing style of play was not too far removed from Morris and Brand’s own strategic vision.

They wanted to be a possession-based side ‘but with a purpose’ and there was also a focus on pressing with organisation and intensity inside the opposition half.

With veteran striker Charlie Austin posing a real threat from crosses, and right back Remeao Hutton regarded one of the best crossers in the division (producing 12 assists that season) the Robins were also a team that fed a stream of balls into the box.

Victories against Salford City, Harrogate Town, Bradford City and AFC Wimbledon were memorable highs, but a common theme continued to surface, which tallied with the inexperience of the group.

“We were regularly facing players with 200, 250, 300 league appearances and our young boys were just out of the Academy system. For obvious reasons our physicality just wasn’t where it needed to be, so teams who played direct tended to cause us more problems, and set pieces were also tough to deal with. Late on in matches, a lack of wisdom also cost us points.

“We always did our due diligence and went through what our opponents were about, nothing was neglected, but the priority was always us, and how we wanted to play. Learning how to get that balance right was a useful exercise,” explains the former Chelsea Under-18s captain, who joined the club aged nine.

Managing upwards was another challenge for the pair, who did not always enjoy clear lines of communication with the club’s hierarchy.

New beginning's for Brand

Sadly, even without having a transfer window to assemble a squad that fitted their image or a pre-season to get their ideas across, Morris and Brand were relieved of their duties with one match remaining of the 2022-23 campaign.

It was a setback at the time, but as Brand reflects on their tenure he is still able to draw on positives that provide him with encouragement as he looks towards the future.

“Taking myself away from Chelsea to taste what it’s like somewhere else is going to make me a better coach, I know that,” he says with certainty.

“Jody had a lot of trust in me to take sessions, I was allowed to lead on some of the player meetings too, as well as holding individual one on ones. That side of it was brilliant.

“In spite of the results I’d like to think the players enjoyed working with us too. When we moved on a lot of them got in touch to send kind messages about our coaching, which was nice of them, as they didn’t have to reach out.

“On a personal level I now have confidence and belief that I can go into another first team environment again, coach the players well, and be of benefit.”

Also in this series

Coaching insights part 1: Lionel Djagba
Coaching insights part 3: Unai Emery
Coaching insights part 4: Added time