Apologies. I’d resisted the urge to jump on the world cup bandwagon like everyone else at the moment (Italian Bolognese Walker’s Crisps anyone?!?), but I’ve just been watching the news about the (apparent) unrest in the England football team camp.

The pressure seems to be on the manager and it occurred to – what would you do? I have a colleague who experienced something similar. He was appointed into a company as a senior manager, but his team pretty much revolted against everything he tried to change or implement. He had best intentions, but the outcome was the worst possible for him and he left. I guess it shows the power of not having your team on your side and, of course, the power of having them onside. How do you ensure they are? Involve them and listen to them for sure, but also know when to be decisive and stick to your guns. My colleague? He should have taken some harsh decisions earlier and got rid of at least one of the dissenters, just like the French football team manager did recently. In addition he should have been more flexible in his approach as there was no single solution to achieving what he wanted. He wanted to do it one way and the team wanted to do it the other. Maybe he should have gone with the team. After all they’re the ones who deliver the performance on the pitch....