Johnny Heitinga is eager to learn from West Ham boss David Moyes and his staff.
Former Holland defender has joined the West Ham backroom team this season.
He told whufc.com: This is a learning process for me," he added. I always say that when you're working in the Academy, you need to make mistakes as well. You need to learn, have a lot of conversations with different people who have experience, and develop yourself.
You have to keep inventing and reinventing yourself. If things remain comfortable then it can become boring and fall into the same old patterns, which is dangerous. I have learned that I need to continue to challenge myself creatively.
Also, in the dressing room, it's important to remember it's not just the starting XI. Sometimes, if you want to be successful, then it can be more important to think about the players who haven't started the last game.
That's a big thing for me, the challenge of keeping everyone going in the same direction and I'd like to do that in a simple way by being honest, clear and loyal. It's up to us as the coaches to make sure there isn't a difference between the players that play a lot and the players who are playing less.
We need to provide the tools for them to make the most of their chances. With that, the wants must be turned into a must! You need to find it in yourself, because it won't come from anyone else. You set your rules and, if you want to be successful and live your best life, then you need to follow those rules. Discipline is making agreements with yourself and then sticking to them.
There is a winning culture over here and all our lads are very competitive with each other. It's the same in the gym and that culture helps players to get better. It's to the benefit of the whole squad if each player improves by five per cent minimum, or even ten or 15 per cent. It's the collective and, if you can achieve that, you've got something special, whether that's in strength, technical ability, finishing or something else. It's up to us to make the players better and it's up to us to make sure there is the right mix involved."
