Quote ="DaveO"As you know I don't live in Wigan and so never know what to make of the off-field problems certain players have supposed to have had that crop up on here every now and again but what I have always said is that it wasn't professional behavior if any of these reports were true.
This usually ended up in a debate about it not being anyones business what players get up to out of hours and being young lads they should be allowed to relax and enjoy themselves (meaning getting paralytic not just having the odd beer).
I think it's safe to say that sort of behavior won't be tolerated anymore. With Rads focus on the clubs ethos and the kind of training (in particular the monitoring of players recovery times etc) we are hearing any players who's performance drops off compared to what is expected will have some explaining to do!
This sort of professional behavior off-field is something I felt was lacking and getting it back (because we used to have it as a club) is an important aspect of getting the players to perform better. I am sure Rads will help instill the importance of players looking after themselves all the time into the squad. Most won't need to be told and probably do so anyway but I'd expect to hear less tales and see fewer rumours about off-field activities that cropped up about Lam and others in the future with Rads and the rest of the coaching team in charge.
Dave'"
Around the time he was writing his book, Rads went out on a limb - without actually naming names - to make comments about the Wigan ethos being absent. He never actually said that too many Wigan players are on the p122, but I felt it was implied. According to Rads, the attitude among the playing staff was simply wrong. He did not deem it professional enough for a club like Wigan, and now, thankfully, he's in a position to do something about it.
I completely agree about the 'getting ratted in Wigan' routine that's apparently bedevilled us in recent seasons. I've never accepted this "young lads should be allowed to go out and do what they want when they're not at work" attitude. To me, that's the height of amateurism - they're getting paid to be athletes, and therefore should NOT be allowed to go out and do anything they want if it impinges on their athletic performance.
At the end of the day, it's a short but potentially very lucrative career. They can go on the lash all they want when they're in their 30s.
