20 Sep 2026 18:13:24
When looking back at the early days of Martin and McInnes, the results and atmosphere looked remarkably similar.
The real difference is in the culture they built behind closed doors.
McInnes understood the weight of the shirt immediately. When the bad results hit he didn't hide from the challenge. Instead, he used criticism as fuel to build a seige mentality inside the dressing room. He diverted the plane back from Czech to Aberdeen so no one could hide from pain and disappointment. He made sure he and his team lived it with the players in a hotel in the middle of nowhere. Since then he's turned a team of misfits in to a team of fighters, a group willing to run through brick walls and give absolutely everything for their manager because they knew he had their backs. Adversity didn't break them; it unified them.
On the flip side, Martin's approach suffocated the squad. Instead of protection, players felt the weight of intense scrutiny. The culture shifted from accountability to anxiety. He created a team so terrified of making mistakes, and so fearful of being singled out for tactical errors, that they completely froze. When you play to avoid making mistakes rather than playing to win, the system collapses, just look at Gassama.
One manager built a brotherhood. The other built a pressure cooker within a pressure cooker.
Enjoy the international break.
Glasgow is blue.
20 Sep 2026 18:50:34
Good post mate.
20 Sep 2026 18:53:34
Great post EHL. What a sign off for the International break. 3 weeks and we go again. ❤️🤍💙💪🏻.
20 Sep 2026 18:54:28
Really pleased for guys like big Naderi and skipper Dan Neil.
Majority were writing them of 4/5 weeks ago. Now they'd probably be the first names on the team sheet.
20 Sep 2026 19:04:07
I agree with everything you said EHL, I hope McInnes doesn't go back to changing & tinkering too much after this, sticks with the high intensity & start putting teams to bed. I will admit McInnes has turned it around & has showed he deserves time.
Martin was always a dire appointment, still don't know how he got another job & sit us back massively last season, Rohl almost performed a miracle by getting us that close to the title.
20 Sep 2026 19:06:24
Could tell in the interview after what it meant to Naderi - that comes from the manager instilling that desire to win and playing for the team.
20 Sep 2026 19:18:55
Maloney clearly has more to do with the running/picking of their team. imo Saint Martin is only a cheerleader & up to now has kept their hordes happy saying all the right things.
20 Sep 2026 19:54:07
Great post EHL and wise words foolmonty.
So pleased for some of the guys who have taken pelters. McInnes for a start, but Sterling, Fernandez, Raskin(including ftom myself), Neil, Gassama, Naderi. All exceptional this week and last. But the South African lad??
Wow, what a player.
20 Sep 2026 20:18:36
Good post, we look so much more settled now, I was critical of DM a few weeks ago but happy to eat some humble pie after this week. We look strong all over the park and that with us carrying a few injuries.
International break has come at the wrong time for us would have liked us to carry on with our current run over the next few weeks but it is what it is. Pure buzzing today.
20 Sep 2026 21:40:05
Agree with everything you say but also worth noting the change in persondl and leadership group this season. Must be easier for the new guys to assert themselves and bond when its largely a new group of players of similar ages without the legacy issues we may have had with some of the old guard that have left.
It does feel like a clean slate this season, with only Sterling, Raskin and Kelly in the squad that have been here more than 1 season.