As his peers headed out for a drink after class following another absorbing day on their Scottish FA Pro Licence course, Ian Cathro’s head remained buried in his Macbook.
“Cathro is way, way out of his depth,” wrote former Scotland striker Kris Boyd shortly after Wolverhampton Wanderers’ new first team coach was appointed Hearts boss in 2016.
“I don’t see a confident, charismatic top level coach when I look at him,” he continued. “I just think of the shy lad who hardly spoke to anyone when we were on the same coaching course.”
But what Boyd failed to realise was that Cathro simply didn’t have time to socialise with his classmates.
Whilst Boyd was getting a round in, Cathro was devising Valencia’s game-plan ahead of Real Madrid’s visit to the Mestalla the following weekend. Nuno Espirito Santo had given Cathro a job to do - the young coach wasn’t going to let anything prevent him from doing it.
Valencia recorded an historic 2-1 win, ending Madrid’s record 22-game winning streak in the process.
It’s that tactical nous which led to Nuno labelling Cathro a ‘genius’ and a ‘visionary’ - and why he was so desperate to add the Scot to his Wolves coaching staff.
Coaching credentials
At the tender age of 32, Cathro is coaching players who are older than him - but don’t let his age fool you. This is a coach who has done his badges and a hell of a lot more.
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Like most young boys Cathro dreamt of becoming a professional footballer and spent time on the books of Scottish minnows Forfar and Brechin City.
It was at Brechin where Cathro suffered the knee injury which eventually ended his playing career. Soon after, his attentions turned to coaching - a second chance to forge a career in the game he adores.
A 16-year-old Cathro pinned a brown envelope up on the wall of his bedroom and began saving for his first set of training equipment. Some teenagers save up for mobile phones and alcohol, Cathro wanted some cones to set foot on the coaching ladder.
He got them and started teaching children in his hometown of Dundee. Cathro’s methods quickly drew attention in the professional game with his Box Soccer principle - which teaches skills, technique, movement and quick thought inside a practice area of 24 metres by 24 metres - enhancing the local talent.
Craig Levein, manager of Dundee United at the time, quickly learned Cathro’s prodigies were technically better than his club’s and snapped him up. Cathro was appointed head of Dundee United’s youth academy at the age of 22.
Cathro coached Ryan Gauld and John Souttar at Dundee United, both of whom have identified the coach as a key influence on their careers.
Gauld, dubbed the ‘Scottish Messi’, now plays for Sporting Lisbon while Souttar has more than 100 Scottish Premier League starts despite being just 21.
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Cathro’s innovative coaching methods led to the SFA asking him to redesign their performance school system curriculum.
Those who’ve worked with Cathro describe him as ‘very hands on’ and ‘meticulous’ in his approach to coaching.
Cathro’s influences
Despite his limited playing experience, Cathro’s contacts book boasts some household names. Arsenal manager Unai Emery has lent an ear to Cathro, as has former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur chief Andre Villas-Boas.
Rafa Benitez also speaks highly of Cathro, who was one of just two coaches the Champions League-winning Spaniard didn’t dispense of when he took the reins at Newcastle United. Former England manager Steve McClaren took Cathro to St James' Park and charged him with tactical and opposition analysis.
During his time on coaching courses with the SFA Cathro dipped into his own pocket to travel the continent and hone his skills.
He’s embraced different cultures and speaks fluently in Portuguese and Spanish. He still reads the Portuguese press to maintain his fluency and appease his tactical tastebuds.
A match made in Scotland
Emery and Villas-Boas have provided Cathro with snippets of information to enhance his coaching persona, but Nuno’s influence is unparalleled.
They may seem an unlikely combination but Nuno and Cathro aren’t lacking in coaching chemistry.
The pair hit it off on a coaching course in Scotland and spent hours dissecting tactics and playing styles.
Nuno had scarcely encountered a coach with Cathro’s attention to detail and they remained in contact after completing their coaching course.
In 2012, when Nuno was handed his first managerial role by Rio Ave, Wolves’ head coach asked Cathro if he would join him in Portugal - the beginning of a partnership which has only yielded success to date.
After guiding Rio Ave to Europa League football Nuno was courted by Valencia and unveiled as their head coach in 2014. Who did he call? Cathro.
Their first season at Valencia brought a fourth-placed finish and Champions League football. There were memorable wins along the way, including the aforementioned 2-1 triumph over Real Madrid which was dreamt up by Cathro within the confines of a Scotland classroom.
Rumours Cathro would be joining Wolves surfaced shortly after the Portuguese arrived at Molineux as the pair were spotted together at Compton. That wasn’t the case, though, with Cathro only in the Black Country to meet his close friend and discuss football.
Cathro is also very close with several members of Nuno’s coaching staff, particularly assistant Rui Pedro Silva.
Media scrutiny
Cathro was the brains in the background at Rio Ave and Valencia and rarely thrust into the media spotlight. His first crack at management with Hearts didn’t go to plan, Cathro will admit that himself.
Former professionals such as Boyd questioned the appointment whereas others thought Cathro would revolutionise Scottish football.
He was eventually sacked just a few games into last season as pressure mounted on Hearts’ hierarchy to abandon what many perceived to be a left-field project.
Cathro struggled to cope with the media intensity at Hearts and now feels he could have handled it better.
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A manager in waiting
That won’t stop Cathro from returning to management, but he’s unlikely to try his luck in Scotland again according to one source.
Cathro feels his coaching style is well-suited to football outside of his homeland and plans to become a No.1 again at some point.
One mistake Cathro feels he made at Hearts was taking the job mid-season. He swore to himself that he would never take a managerial position midway through a campaign and without his own coaching team - two things he overlooked when offered the chance to become Tynecastle chief.
It’s those values which have seen him take almost 12 months out before finally answering Nuno’s call.