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| Paul Lambert has returned to management after nine months out of a job |
PAUL LAMBERT scribbled copious notes as he toured Europe, studying close up a who's who of managerial greats from Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti to Jurgen Klopp.
Yet the real benefit to have been gleaned from an enforced sabbatical is written all over his face.
Nine months off the managerial treadmill proved cathartic for Lambert, who recently returned to employment at Blackburn Rovers following his dismissal by Aston Villa in February.
He feels refreshed, there is a glint in his eyes and, significantly, he looks 10 years younger than the beleaguered figure he cut on the touchline during the last throes of his reign at Villa Park. More importantly, he intends to stay that way.
"The sessions these guys put on and talking to the different managers, their ways and ideas of playing, was a brilliant experience," said Lambert.
"We spoke about organisation off the field and how they look after themselves as well which is important. There never seems to be major stress for them. Either that or they hide it well.
"There is the stress of trying to win games, of course, but I'm pretty sure their mentality is different.
"Carlo Ancelotti said to me, 'This time out of the game will be the best thing that happens to you'. He was 100 per cent right.
"I made a conscious decision when I was out the game, and talking to these guys, that I'm not going down that road again from before I left Villa. No stress now. I thought to myself I will never get caught up in the cauldron of management again."
There will be no slacking from Lambert, 46, who has not been leaving Blackburn's picturesque Brockhall training ground before 7.30pm as he looks to transform the Championship club.
But equally, contentment will come from the knowledge he gives his best every day. Factors beyond his control will no longer prompt sleepless nights.
At Villa, he became besieged. He was consumed by trying to reverse a cycle of underachievement that was whirling long before he arrived in the Midlands and, though he is too respectful to say this, having to take all of the responsibility because no one else at the club stuck their head above the parapet.
"You had to keep a handle on a lot of stuff because we were fighting every year, the resources were just not there for us to compete," he said. "But I know the job I did there and look at them now. In my eyes I couldn't have done any better with what was going on.
"Any team that wins a European Cup shouldn't be that far down because they have history behind it. It is a great club and it is a shame what has happened to it, but it just shows money will never guarantee you anything."
The obvious question given all this is: why Blackburn? Why swap Randy Lerner for Venkys and a club where he has become their seventh manager in seven years?
Lambert maintains his decision was intuitive. He is unbeaten in his first two games, a win over Preston followed by Saturday's stalemate with Sheffield Wednesday, and the task of reviving another club that has seen better days is underway.
"It just felt good for me and hopefully it felt good for the owners," said Lambert, who will draw on his experience of guiding Norwich out of the Championship in 2011.
"I know there's been negativity, but if you talk about it, it keeps on coming back. There is a good feeling at the minute. The crowd are right behind us.
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| Lambert was sacked as manager of Aston Villa in February before taking over at Blackburn |
"I didn't worry, 'If this doesn't work, then that's it'. Not at all. All I can do is my best. Let's see what can happen.
"I never actually missed the game. I never had that bug - 'I have to get back in, I have to get back in'. I knew it was going to be when.
"My whole life is in football, but it didn't surprise me that I didn't miss it because I'm a laidback guy."
This feels like a revelation, and yet time spent with Lambert reveals the public persona of him as the dour Glaswegian, created by events in the Midlands, is misleading.
"You could be the biggest comedian ever, but when you are constantly trying to dampen things down it can come across as dour," he said.
"I laugh at that perception. You ask the lads I played with and I was probably the joker in the dressing room.
"People say Kenny Dalglish was dour, but I have worked with Kenny and he is one of the funniest guys you could meet. I know Billy Connolly really well, so I know that sense of humour. He texts me now and again, so I am not in bad company if people think they are kind of dour.
"I like a laugh, it's just that when it comes to football I take it seriously." Then he adds with a grin: "You will probably have a banana in your exhaust before you leave."
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