Football managers pace 25 miles a season during games, reveals study

LONDON - A new study has revealed that top Premiership managers cover more than 25 miles a season just pacing up and down during games.

According to research, the most successful managers, competing in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup on top of Premier League fixtures, can be expected to cover 25.1 miles per season, which is equivalent of 117 times around a football pitch.

The study, carried out to mark the release of computer game Football Manager 2011, involved examining footage of the biggest names in football management.

Researchers analysed the number of steps taken by Premier League bosses when pacing about the technical area, travelling to and from the dugouts and sidelines and shifting nervously while watching their side take on the top teams.

“People assume that once a football match starts, the manager just sits back and watches the action unfold,” the Sun quoted Miles Jacobson, studio director of Football Manager 2011, as saying.

“However, the modern manager is so passionate about the game and under more pressure than ever to achieve the best results that more often than not they are found pacing anxiously up and down or jumping from the dugout in excitement at a goal or frustration at what they deem to be a poor refereeing decision,” he stated.

The study found that Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Mick McCarthy covers the greatest distance while watching his side play, pacing an average distance of 36.1 miles in the Premier League season alone, the equivalent of walking from London to Luton.

Hot on the heels of McCarthy, Premiership managers Chris Hughton, of Newcastle United, Stoke City’s Tony Pulis, Steve Bruce, of Sunderland, and Blackpool boss Ian Holloway were found to be some of the most energetic team leaders. (ANI)