Will Still: The 30-year-old English boss proving a hit at Ligue 1 Reims

Will Still: From Football Manager to football manager

By Simon Yaffe
Football writer

The large amount of text messages and emails, as well as requests for photographs while browsing in his local supermarket, are now a constant part of Will Still's daily life.

It is something the Belgian-born Englishman is having to get used to as manager of Ligue 1 club Reims.

The north-eastern French team are unbeaten in the country's top-flight since Still initially took temporary charge in October after Oscar Garcia was sacked - a run of 15 games, including two draws with powerhouses Paris St-Germain.

Thanks to that unbeaten streak, Reims - who have won six Ligue 1 titles and lost to Real Madrid in the second European Cup final in 1959 - are defying expectations and sit 10th in the table.

"I enjoy the adrenaline rush and I tend to ignore pressures from the outside world," Still, who at 30 is the youngest head coach or manager in Europe's major leagues, told BBC Sport.

"My phone has gone nuts over the past few months and I am always asked for photographs while I am out shopping. I don't mind it as I know that being recognised is part of the job.

"At the same time, I know how quickly things can change in football."

Still has taken an unfamiliar path to top-flight management.

Born and raised in the Belgian town of Braine-l'Alleud, after his father moved there to work for Shell, the lifelong West Ham United supporter later studied Applied Football coaching at Myerscough College, in Lancashire, and landed his first role in professional football in 2014 when he became a video analyst at Belgian side Sint-Truiden.

A year later he followed Yannick Ferrera to Standard Liege, but the manager and his coaching team were sacked, and Still became assistant manager at Lierse in 2017.

More bad luck followed when Lierse were declared bankrupt and so Still joined Beerschot, where he spent two years as assistant before taking charge in January 2021 and guiding the newly-promoted side to within a point of the play-offs to reach the opening stages of the Europa League.

However, that summer he was let go.

"I went on holiday, having received compliments from the board," recalled Still, who speaks fluent French.

"I went back in two weeks later and they told me they were going to appoint a new manager. I was asked to stay on as assistant, but I did not want to do that. I found the whole thing odd and difficult to deal with."

The £22k-a-game coaching conundrum

He was approached by then-Anderlecht manager Vincent Kompany, before linking up for the first time with former Watford boss Garcia at Reims.

Still's first stint there only lasted a couple of months due to logistical problems regarding studying for his Uefa A Licence - something that has again become a hot topic of conversation.

"It meant driving twice a week to Belgium, where I was doing the course," he said. "I'd shoot off after training on a Wednesday and would drive back in time for a game on the Saturday, but it just became too much.

"I was so tired and messed up that I knew I had to find a job closer to home."

That meant an eight-month return to Liege as assistant manager before beginning his second stint at Reims in July last year. Still then stepped up when Garcia left in October.

However, because he doesn't have a Uefa Pro Licence, as Ligue 1 rules for its managers dictate, Reims have to pay £22,000 every time he takes charge of a game.

He is studying for the qualification at the National Football Centre near Brussels, which he visits once or twice a month.

"When I moved back to Reims, it felt like I had restarted the job I had left the year before," he said. "I realised French football is special and is at a higher level than Belgium, and with better players.

"Oscar had a difficult start to the season and there was actually a clause in my contract which stated the club could fire me if they got rid of him.

"Luckily, when he left I was asked to step in and take over."

'A nice kid and unbelievable footballer'

Getty Images

On-loan Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun (centre) is the top scorer in France's Ligue 1 with 14 goals

Lending a huge helping hand in Still and Reims' success has been on-loan Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun, who is joint-second in the Ligue 1 goalscoring stakes with 15, behind only PSG's Kylian Mbappe.

Balogun's tally also includes a last-gasp equaliser against PSG in the French capital in January.

"There is no limit for him," said Still. "He has his head screwed on, he knows what he wants and he is going to get there.

"Once you get past the human side, as he is such a nice kid, he is an unbelievable footballer.

"He has come into a totally different culture and environment, and we have been able to give him the structure and base for him to express himself."

Still was first asked to take charge against PSG back in October when Garcia returned to his native Spain for a family matter. Under his direction, Reims made sure Lionel Messi and company failed to score for only the third time in the current campaign.

"I focused on what we were good at and gave the players enough information to make them think we could cause PSG a few problems," Still said.

"It was also about giving them confidence and not worrying about the names on the back of the PSG shirts.

"We pressed them well and it certainly wasn't a stroll for PSG. It was almost easier after that because we built on that result."

More Stills on the rise? Does Premier League beckon?

Coaching runs in the Still family - older brother Ed is head coach at Belgian First Division side Eupen, where their younger brother, Nicolas, is an assistant boss.

But he is keen to emphasise that they are worlds apart, coaching-wise.

"We are very close and whenever we have a conversation it is usually about football," Still explained. "Saying that, we are completely different characters and we have different philosophies when it comes to football coaching."

In charge at the Stade Auguste Delaune until the end of the season, Still is relaxed about his future in management. But he admits his dream is to one day take charge of a Premier League or Championship club.

"I used to become so agitated and unhappy at what people said about me and my work, but I decided to put it aside and focus on winning games," Still said.

"I am just trying to enjoy it all."

And with that attitude, it would be no surprise to see him arrive on UK shores in the not-so-distant future.

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