---
title: "Long-Distance Football Managers: Pros and Cons"
description: "Via BBC Sport Football: Managing a football club brings immense pressure, but some bosses add a grueling commute. Frank Lampard splits time between Coventry ..."
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### Long-Distance Football Managers: Pros and Cons

BBC Sport Football • September 21, 2026 at 1:52 AM ET

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Managing a football club brings immense pressure, but some bosses add a grueling commute. Frank Lampard splits time between Coventry and London, while Jose Mourinho lived in a Manchester hotel during his United stint, keeping his family in London. Arne Slot resides in Hale, Greater Manchester — an hour from Anfield — to stay near the airport for trips to his family in the Netherlands.

One of the UK's longest commutes belonged to Tony Pulis. The former Stoke City manager maintained his south coast home throughout his Staffordshire tenure, a 400-mile round trip. At Middlesbrough in 2017, he drove 320 miles each way. Pulis, 68, told BBC Sport his wife insisted on raising their children on the south coast, and he felt the distance sharpened his focus. "Without having the family there, I spent more time thinking about and preparing for what I was doing," he said.

Clubs provided weekday apartments. After Saturday games, Pulis drove home — three hours of uninterrupted phone calls with chairman Peter Coates, assistants David Kemp and Gerry Francis, and his chief scout. He reviewed opponent footage before Sunday family time, then returned early Monday with a clear game plan. "By jumping in the car... you can just concentrate on what you want to," Pulis noted, contrasting it with office distractions.

[Read original article](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c7v4l3z659vo)

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