Q - Please can you introduce yourself
My name is Brian Finniss, I am 31 years old, from Canada, and I am the Fitness Coach here at Bangkok Glass FC.
Q - How long have you been in your current job?
I have actually only been with Bangkok Glass FC just about 1 month now but have been working in High Performance Sport as a fitness coach and strength and conditioning coach for the last 8-9 years, with Professional and Olympic athletes around the world.
Q - How did you get your job at Bangkok Glass?
I actually started the season with another team in the Thai Premier League as their Club Performance Manager but they decided to make some changes to the coaching staff and so I decided to leave at that time as well. I basically had some colleagues of mine get me in touch with Bangkok Glass FC and I flew up from Phuket (me and my fiancée have an apartment there) and met with the club and then things fell into place from there.
Q - Where have you worked previously?
I have kind of worked all over the world in Europe, Canada, Australia, and now Asia. In the football world I worked in Australia in the Hyundai A-League for a club down there and then prior to moving to Thailand I was the Manager of High Performance at one of the Canadian Sports Institute training centres working with the Canadian National team and Olympic team athletes from different sports.
Q - How does working in Thailand compare to your previous jobs?
Working in Thailand is similar to other places I have worked except there is a little bit more of a language barrier here than other countries. Sure there are some differences but for the most part, the majority is similar. The players here have been great to work with, as most of them want to learn and want to improve and as a fitness coach, that is all you can ask for from your players!
Q - What has been your biggest achievement?
It will be on November 22nd this year in Phuket when I get married! My fiancée is from Canada as well and currently lives and works in Phuket!
Q - What are your ambitions for the future?
I would love to stay and continue to work in the Thai Premier League and continue to bring more and more sport science / strength and conditioning into the game here in Thailand to better help develop the next generation of players. Thai players are very skilled when it comes to football but sometimes lack the proper physical training or sport science knowledge to take their game to the next level. Someday I would like to work with the Thai National team as well, to again help them develop the next generation of national team players.
Q - What advice would you give to anyone who wishes to follow in your footsteps?
Don't be afraid to take chances! What I mean by that is, I had to move away from Canada for a while in order to learn and gain the proper experience and knowledge. I was very fortunate to work with and still to this day have mentors who have helped me along the way in the high performance sport world! Two years ago I would have never dreamed I would be in Thailand working in the Thai Premier League and now I want to continue to work here for many years to come!
Q - Please describe a typical day for you at Bangkok Glass?
I like to get into work between 8-9am each day and usually start by checking emails and some news outlets back home in Canada to see what is going on back there. I spend a lot of my morning working on training programs or developing training schedules for the coming weeks. With our crazy schedule this can be very difficult and also as I have learned here in Thailand, constantly changing as well. Early afternoon some of the players who are currently injured and not training with the first team will come in for some individual training and rehab. Usually we will have training around 5pm so will then prepare for that. Once training is over the players will then start the recovery process and start to prepare for the next day.
Q - Which areas of fitness training have you mostly been focusing on?
I have not necessarily been focusing on any one area, the main thing right now is to try and get our overall conditioning level to the point it needs to be. Our guys need to be able to play for a full 90 minutes. I think one of the areas I really try and stress with the players is the recovery aspect of it. This in a lot of cases can be more important than the actual training itself, as it relates to their physical performance during a game.
Q - What are the main pieces of advice you give to players regarding their fitness?
I always try and stress Quality over Quantity! The one thing I tell all my athletes is that there is one thing they can always control in sport and that is how hard they are willing to work each day. They cannot control the way the ball may bounce or what the referee may call but they can always control how hard they are willing to work that day.
Q - How are the players at Bangkok Glass responding to your methods?
Since I have only been here for about 1 month now, I really have not changed a lot of what they were use to before. The fact that I joined the club in the middle of the season and right at the start of a crazy schedule of games (every Wednesday and every weekend) makes it even harder to change things. If I was to come in and try and make huge changes right now, their bodies would not adapt to these changes in time for the games and thus their performance would be effected. I have tried to slowly add more and more things as the weeks have progressed. I want them to learn to train smarter; quality always over quantity!
Q - What is your role on match days?
On match days it can vary a little bit but for the most part it is pretty similar. The morning of a match I will work with any of the players who will not be in uniform that night. After this I will go back to the office before our team meal and team meeting. Once we get to the pitch I will get ready for the on field warm-up with the players and then during the game will again warm players up that are about to be substituted into the game. After the game, depending on our training schedule for the remainder of the week, I might put the players who did not get into the game through some on field conditioning to try and mimic the amount of work they would have done had they played.
Q - Overall, how do you think Bangkok Glass have performed this season?
Well again having only been with the club for about 1 month it is hard to say what the expectations were going into the season but looking at the current standings I would say that they have performed well at times and not at other times. I think in the first half of the season they were inconsistent at times.
Q - What are your expectations for the rest of the season?
I think the expectations for the second half of the season are really to continue to build upon what is already here and continually get better each and every day. We had a very tough hard fought FA Cup victory last week away to Buriram Utd so if we can take some of that momentum and continue to build on it and push ourselves towards the top of the Thai Premier League table, you never know what can happen.
Q - What are you expecting from Sunday's match?
Sunday's match should be a very good game and a very tough match for both teams. Chonburi is obviously one of the top teams in the league and always plays hard. It should be a great game for the fans to watch!
Q - What have been your impressions of Chonburi this season?
They always come to play. Whenever you play Chonburi you can expect a very tough game!
Q - What do you think our main strengths are?
They are a very well organised team and as I mentioned above, every game they show up to play!
Q - And our weaknesses?
I can't tell you that before the game! Ask me after Sunday night!
Q - Which Chonburi players are you most wary of and why?
Obviously Thiago up front is always a dangerous player and someone you need to keep a close eye on at all times.
Q - What kind of tactics can we expect Bangkok Glass to adopt on Sunday?
Going to have to wait and see on Sunday night!
Q - Which players do we need to look out for?
All of them!
Q - Do you think the artificial surface gives Bangkok Glass an unfair advantage?
I hear people say this all the time but no, I really don't. Nowadays almost every team has access to an artificial turf field that they can practice on prior to playing here. Sure they may only practice on it a couple of times before they play at the Leo Stadium but the same argument can be made that playing on a grass pitch puts us at a disadvantage as well. We have to try and prepare to play on a grass pitch more than half our games each season while every other team in the league only has to prepare to play on our artificial turf for 1 game! So no, I really don't think it provides any advantage or disadvantage for either team.
Q - There must be some advantages of having an artificial pitch. What are they?
The field doesn't get as wet when it rains.
Q - Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Just want to say thank you to both yourself and Matt Riley for the wonderful job you both do in covering the Thai Premier League in English. I started following the Thai Premier League back around 2011 when a friend and coach I had worked with before (Phil Stubbins) first came here to coach so even from a distance I could follow the league and have a better idea of what it was all about.
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