Curbs talks to Chris Powell

Alan Curbishley's new book Game Changers consists of a series of interviews with football personalities and one of these is with Chris Powell.

Chris says: 'I think that I always had it in my mind to be a manager. But it's when you actually become a manager and walk into the office on the first day with everyone there and looking at you, that's when you realise they're all thinking,Right, what are you going to do?'

'There's so much you have to organise, and you soon realise that no matter what department in the club, it all comes to you. One of the big things that hit me when I first got the job was when I walked out at The Valley for my first game there and I thought I'm leading the team now.'

'I'll never forget it. I turned round and looked at the dugout and the main stand during the game and thought, 'This is it. You always said you wanted to manage. Now this is it. You stand there and you're really on your own.'

'Winning as a manager surpasses winning as a player because it's the culmination of your work through the week, and to see it come together on a Saturday, especially if the performance is to the levels you expect,just surpasses everything. But if you lose it's terrible. There's no middle ground.'

'I think the first six months I had at Charlton were invaluable. I had time to think about the next season and the restructuring I wanted to do with the team to try to get us promotion. We had a great start to that second season and didn't lose for twelve games. We got promotion and that was my first full season as manager, so it was a big moment for me. The next season we were in the Championship, and you have to reassess and be realistic about what you can achieve as a newly promoted team - but we managed to finish ninth and were only three points off the play offs.'

'I think that as a manager you have a responsibility to bring young players through, to try to make that happen, but you also know you're not always going to get time. That's the reality, and losing your job is something you have to come to terms with.'