Thursday 4 August 2011 11:36, UK
Paolo Di Canio says getting to grips with lower-league football has caused few problems as he plots Swindon's promotion bid.
The passionate Italian captured the football world's attention back in May when he was appointed as the new manager at the County Ground, just weeks after Town had finished bottom of League One. Di Canio spent his playing career at the very top level of the game with the likes of Lazio, Juventus, AC Milan, Celtic and West Ham, winning a Serie A title, the UEFA Cup and European Super Cup along the way. It will be a very different story this season as he comes up against the likes of Crawley, AFC Wimbledon and Barnet in what is his first venture into the dugout. Yet, with his coaching badges under his belt, Di Canio said: "All the time I tell people the football is the same, if you are an intelligent person the football is exactly the same in every league. "It depends what you expect from it. I'm not the kind of manager to be frustrated watching my players make a mistake because obviously I can't think at the moment I have Premier League players, for this league they are absolutely fantastic players because a lot of them have already experienced the top level. "So I'm not worried, because I know to become a good manager you must handle the situation you have in front of you. "I know this league because since I got the job I have watched about 12-14 games, it's not (the case that) because you've never played in League Two or League One you don't know football. "It takes two hours to understand exactly what's going on. I also watched 16 games from League One just to know exactly the players I have now in my squad. "So I know straight away what's going on in the next few weeks. I know we will play at some grounds where you don't have a fantastic pitch and you have to play some way and not the other, it's not a problem because I'm sure I can help my players who are already very good to improve their quality, play together and try to win every game." He continued: "I will spend 24 hours a day doing it because this is my job. I'm an ambitious manager so if I want to get results I know I have to be the first to work a lot to get it." With attention in League Two bound to be focused on how Di Canio and Swindon fare from the moment they kick off their campaign at home to Crewe on August 6 and with promotion the remit in his first season, you could be forgiven for expecting him to be feeling the pressure. But that is absolutely not the case, as he points out. The 43-year-old has so far gone about his business in impressive fashion, bringing in around a dozen new faces to compliment those from last season - including the appointment of summer signing and Namibia midfielder Oliver Risser as captain. The noises coming out of the camp during pre-season, which included a demanding training set-up in Italy, have been very good and friendly results have been there to match. But is it any real surprise given the visionary and technically brilliant footballer Di Canio was on his day? Not to mention his obvious zest for the game. The target for Di Canio is clear - to get back into League One at the first attempt. "It will be very hard obviously because there are another 23 clubs who want to win but we will stick together and we will see who will be the best," he said. "But I'm confident 100% about the players I've got here. We obviously have to improve a lot because there is a completely new dressing room this year, 10-12 new signings and the players who remain here have a big ambition to win because they want to give something back to themselves, their family and especially to the supporters. "They hurt them last year but they know they have a big chance this year to let the people forget what happened last year and think positives for the future."