Former Panathinaikos assistant coach Steve Rutter: how to adapt your playing style to club and culture

Game | Style | Steve Rutter| 15.07.2021

Steve Rutter (pictured above), who has coached in the top leagues of Greece, Holland and Belgium, outlines the importance of adapting your style of play to your club and context.

Learning: 

• How to adapt your playing style to different contexts

• Developing a style and system to help you win games

• The benefits of coaching in different leagues and cultures

After eight years coaching in the top leagues in Greece, Holland and Belgium, Steve Rutter, believes that coaches need a clear vision of how they want to play the game, but must adapt based on context – especially at senior level where results are crucial. 

“You start off with a template and you know the sort of football you want to play, but you have to quickly adapt to meet the day-to-day needs of getting results,” explains Rutter, who has worked with Panathinaikos and Atromitos (Greece), Roda JC Kerkrade (Holland) and KV Kortrijk (Belgium).

“At Atromitos the last club I was at in Greece, we wanted to start off playing 4-3-3 dropping into a 4-5-1. 

“But we quickly realised that we hadn't got players who could play in those wide areas and who could get back and defend. So we had to change the system.”