Critics, Carlo, little pitch invaders and reaching for the top ... Q&A with Rotherham United Women manager Adam Rawlings

WHERE ARE YOU AND WHAT CAN YOU SEE RIGHT NOW

I’ve just pulled into the big Tesco in Sheffield.

BEST THING ABOUT BEING A FOOTBALL COACH

Imparting your ideas into the players and it’s sink or swim.

MOST FRUSTRATING THING ABOUT BEING A FOOTBALL COACH

Football is a world where everyone thinks they can do better, regardless of background. That’s a big frustration because critics can be a bit unfair sometimes without knowing the full context of everything that goes into it.

FAVOURITE ALL-TIME FOOTBALL FIGURE

Player, Michael Ballack. Coach, Carlo Ancelotti.

FAVOURITE ALL-TIME SPORTING FIGURE

Roger Federer.

FAVOURITE OTHER SPORT

Tennis. I still play now recreationally. It’s a good release.

FAVOURITE FOOTBALL GROUND (outside Rotherham)

Stamford Bridge because that is the home of Chelsea, the team I support.

MOST UNUSUAL OR FUNNY THING YOUV’E WITNESSED AT A FOOTBALL MATCH

There’s always a young child that runs onto the pitch. Then you always see the parent running on after them. That’s probably the funniest thing.

UNUSUAL HOBBY

I am a supercar instructor/driver. It’s for an experience day company called Everyman Racing.

FIRST SPORTING MEMORY

It was when I was eight-years-old. I won the East Midlands County Championships at 100m hurdles. That was my first significant memory.

GUILTY PLEASURE

Chocolate.

FAVOURITE FOOD

Lasagne/pasta or any variation of that.

FAVOURITE MUSIC

I’m actually not a very musical person. If I’m listening to something it will be a podcast, not a musical thing. I listen to music in the gym but would I listen to it anywhere else? Probably not.

FAVOURITE BOOK

Carlo Ancelotti’s autobiography.

FAVOURITE TV PROGRAMME AND FILM

TV programme would be Suits, the series about law. I’m not a massive film person but it would by a John Wick film of any description. More of an action flick.

FAVOURITE PODCAST

FC Bullard. There’s a big balance between fun and football. The High Performance podcast is another and Stick to Football (with Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott, Ian Wright and Roy Keane). Those three are up there.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE PLACES WITH ONE PERSON IN SPORT, WHO WOULD IT BE

Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA. I would imagine the insight you would get into the world of football from that vantage point would be pretty unreal.

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ROTHERHAM UNITED WOMEN’S TEAM IN FIVE YEARS’ TIME

Obviously, at the very top. I think we are a club with the ability and the structure to be able to do that. At the more emotional level I just want us to represent what is a massive club in South Yorkshire and represent it really well on and off the football pitch. I think if we do those things we should be there or thereabouts in five years’ time.