Why Even Physios Must Now Be Team Players

With players finding their way back to fitness pre-Christmas, many counties are focusing on recruitment, both on and off the field.

- Paul Nixon

There are plenty of player deals to sort while this week has seen both Essex and Sussex make head coach appointments with Anthony McGrath and Jason Gillespie being given the reins respectively.

At Leicestershire, we’ve been on the hunt for a physiotherapist, doing plenty of interviews. It may sound like a relatively easy position to fill, but it’s not just a case of finding the person with all the relevant qualifications.

From top to bottom of every county, it’s vital that whoever is brought into the club has the right mentality. You really do need everyone singing off the same hymn sheet if you want to be successful, and that doesn’t matter whether it’s the head coach, the strength and conditioning coach or even the receptionist.

It’s crucial that you have a whole team who have exactly the same vision. You need to be able to trust everyone to get the players going in the same direction, so it’s vital you appoint the right person. Our physio interviews aren’t just about showing us how they’ll help the players recover, it’s about showing us what else they can bring to the table.

You have to advertise the role, and the potential candidate is presenting a gym activity, depending on the scenario we give them. Just like the actual job, it’s a lot of thinking on your feet. We want to see how well people do in different situations.