Tony Pulis urges football managers to prioritise their health, fitness and family life amid the intense pressures of the profession

Former Bournemouth manager Tony Pulis has urged young football managers to take their physical and mental wellbeing seriously, warning that the relentless demands of the profession can have damaging consequences if personal health is neglected.

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Pulis gave the advice following Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany’s recent health scare, which brought renewed attention to the pressures faced by coaches working at the highest level of football.

According to BBC Sport, Kompany collapsed at Bayern Munich’s training ground, with the condition identified as meningeal irritation, an inflammation involving the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Reflecting on his own career, Pulis said he did not fully appreciate the personal demands of football management until he took charge of a club. Having previously worked as a player and coach, he admitted that his early approach to managing his health was poor.

“In the early days, my management of myself personally was really poor,” he said.

Pulis, who began his managerial career at Bournemouth in 1992, recalled spending long hours travelling to watch potential signings, often relying on unhealthy meals and snacks along the way.

“At that time I would be driving up and down the motorway to watch players, trying to find a fish and chip shop or fuelled only by a half-time pie or a sandwich from a local shop,” he said.

He explained that the pressure to deliver results, particularly when his teams were struggling, added to the strain and made it difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

A conversation with an Australian triathlete shortly before he left Bournemouth in 1994, however, prompted him to reconsider his priorities. The athlete warned that the demands of his work were affecting his physical condition and that the accompanying stress could eventually take a serious toll.

Pulis said the exchange changed his attitude towards personal fitness and influenced how he approached his next managerial role.

“I came to the conclusion that in my next job, if I got one, I would dedicate myself to a more manageable lifestyle and put my own fitness first,” he said.

He subsequently established a routine of exercising early each morning before breakfast, allowing him to focus on football-related responsibilities during the rest of the day.

His commitment to fitness also extended beyond routine exercise. While managing Gillingham in 1999, Pulis participated in his first London Marathon, beginning a series of physical challenges that included cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and rowing from Tower Bridge in London to the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

He said regular physical activity helped him manage stress and sleep better, while maintaining time for his family provided an important emotional outlet.

Pulis reserved Sundays for family activities, describing the arrangement as a way to disconnect from the demands of football management.

“That was how I relaxed and that day with them became a release valve which was an important part of my routine,” he said.

The former manager also adopted a deliberate approach to dealing with media scrutiny.

He said he avoided reading reports about himself and his teams, regardless of whether the coverage was positive or negative, and instead relied on trusted members of his coaching staff for support.

For Pulis, these habits were not simply lifestyle preferences but practical ways of managing the psychological demands of a profession in which results, criticism and job security can create sustained pressure.

He urged younger managers to develop similar routines, stressing that looking after their health becomes particularly important during difficult periods.

“You have to maintain your enthusiasm for looking after yourself, because this is the time when you will need it the most. Under the constant stress you will put yourself under, it is dangerous not to,” he said.

Pulis acknowledged that support for football managers had improved since he entered the profession. He pointed to the League Managers’ Association’s Fit To Manage programme, which provides health assessments, as well as the growing involvement of club medical teams in monitoring the wellbeing of coaching staff.

However, he cautioned that football management could remain an isolating profession despite these improvements.

His message highlights a wider challenge within elite football: managers are expected to maintain high performance under intense scrutiny, but their own wellbeing can easily become secondary to the demands of the job.

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While modern clubs increasingly recognise the importance of staff welfare, Pulis believes managers must also take personal responsibility for maintaining their health, building supportive relationships and making time to recover from the pressures of the game.