Former midfielder and current football pundit Don Hutchinson recently spoke to The Football League Paper to offer his perspective on the Championship play-offs.
Hutchinson experienced promotion to the Premier League with West Ham United via the play-offs in 2005, so knows all about what it takes to win.
His understanding of big-match pressure is not limited to domestic football. As a former Scotland international, he famously scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory against England in 1999.
The Championship is often described as one of the most competitive and unpredictable leagues in world football.
This season has only strengthened that reputation, with many teams either chasing promotion or battling relegation for most of the season.
Formerly of a number of EFL clubs, including play-off chasers Coventry City and Millwall, Hutchinson emphasised just how challenging and intense the league can be in an interview organised by goldenpanda.com.
“It’s a brilliant league. It’s a very underrated league to play in because it’s a test of character. It’s a test of your bottle. It’s a test of your fitness. You are playing over 50 games a season. You are expected and you want to play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. It’s relentless.
“Anyone can beat anyone. There’s no shocks whenever someone beats someone, say if a bottom side beats someone at the top end of the Championship. It’s just the way you go,” he added.
The importance of resilience
Referencing Leeds United manager Daniel Farke, Hutchinson highlighted the importance of resilience throughout the season.
“I think Daniel Farke said that at the start of the season when he lost a game. He said there’s plenty of games to play for, and we’ll win the next one. And then that’s what you have to do.
“You’ve got to make sure when you’re signing players in the Championship, they’re durable. You can’t afford to carry any passengers. You have to have players that are mentally strong and physically strong.
“When I was out of the Premier League playing in the Championship, I loved it because it was very demanding.”
His personal preparation as a player
When asked about how to prepare for high-stakes matches like the play-offs, Hutchinson acknowledged that there is no single formula for success.
Drawing from his own career, he described two very different approaches that managers took in preparing teams for the play-off final.
“It’s an impossible question to answer because I’ve done it in different ways,” he said.
“I was in the playoffs with Sheffield United under Howard Kendall, and he took us away. He took us to the Isle of Man and he took us completely away from any noise and any sort of newspaper articles, and we got to the final and we lost against Crystal Palace.”
In contrast, his time with West Ham under Alan Pardew brought a different strategy.
“Then I’ve done it a different way with West Ham under Alan Pardew when we beat Preston in the final and his approach was very much to embrace the noise, take it all in.”
While the methods differed, Hutchinson pointed out that ultimately, performance on the day is what counts.
“It’s like a cup final, obviously. It’s ranked as the richest game in the world. I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way to do it. I think that whoever performs on the day with the strongest team and plays the better football will win. I know that’s pretty obvious and simplistic, but there’s not too much to it. It’s a game that is the richest game in the world. You have to perform on the day.”
Don Hutchinson was speaking on behalf of goldenpanda.com. For more information, visit https://www.goldenpanda8.com/en.
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