Henrik Larsson has revealed why he changed his mind about becoming a manager and said he now wants to go to the very top of the game as a boss. In an exclusive interview with Gerry McCulloch for STV Sport Centre, Larsson also said he wouldn’t rule out a return to Celtic in the future.
The Swede, who scored 243 goals in 315 Celtic appearances from 1997 to 2004, recently took his first steps into management by taking over at Swedish second tier club Landskrona BoIS.
Larsson, who hung up his boots at the end of last year at the age of 38, said immediately after his retirement that he wouldn't be interested in stepping into Tony Mowbray's shoes. However, having now eased into management, the legendary striker said he would look to take the skills he learned as a player and see how far he could go.
“I used to say to my wife ‘I’ll never become a manager’ because it’s a lot of work,” he laughed.
“As a player you’re there for two hours, as a manager you’re there from early morning until late night.
“But when I reached 30-plus I just though ‘this is my education’. I had been playing football for such a long time I thought it would be a waste to just throw that knowledge away.”
Larsson played under some managerial greats, including Martin O'Neill, Wim Jansen, Sir Alex Ferguson and Frank Riijkard. As a manager in his own right, the Swede said he hope to blend the best attributes from the men he worked for.
"I will take a little bit of everybody and try to make it my own," he said. "I don't try to become another Sir Alex Ferguson, or another Martin O'Neill, or another Frank Riijkard. I try to be Henrik Larsson, the coach, in my way.
"It's a huge mountain to climb but I am looking forward to it. I really, really enjoy it. I wake up every morning with a big grin on my face."
Many Celtic fans would love to see the one-time number seven take the top job at Parkhead in the future and Larsson told Gerry he wouldn’t rule it out.
"We have to wait and see," he said "I'm taking things one year at a time and we'll see at the end. Only the future will tell.
"I would like to take my coaching skills to the highest possible level. We'll see where that is going to take me."
Camera: Peter Roslund for www.landskronavision.se
