The King defends: “A lot of people say that to be a successful coach you can't be one of the boys. I don't agree with that. Bob Fulton, while he doesn't do everything the players do, involves himself a hell of a lot with the team. I think he's of the opinion that if you get to know the players, it's a lot easier to express yourself. I agree with that. I think the coaches who have trouble getting respect from their players are the ones who distance themselves. I know a couple of coaches who get on all right when they're talking to the players, but when they go away and do their business separately from the team, the players will say: 'Jesus, he's a strange bastard, isn't he?"

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Yes, but we're still off the field. How is Lewis going to throw passes, make tackles, puff and pant and still direct the entire Seagulls show? "No matter where you play on the field, you can never see as well as you can 25 metres high in a box away from the pressure situations and blokes clouting you around the ears. I'm going to be needing some assistance from the sidelines. I've said that from the start."

That's where Graham Eadie, the Reserves coach, comes in. "With him on the sidelines, it's extremely important for us to think the same way. We've got to spend a hell of a lot of time in each other's company between now and the first game so I can relate to him what I'm thinking and vice versa."

Inside Sport, March 1992 edition