Marcel Brands is aiming to implement a structure which delivers sustainable success to Everton. And the Blues’ Director of Football is keen for the Club’s new model to retain its “Evertonian heart”.
Brands was appointed to his post last month and officially unveiled alongside manager Marco Silva on June 4. The Dutchman comes to Goodison Park with a formidable CV after long and fruitful spells in technical positions with RKC Waalwijk, AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven in his homeland.
He spent eight years with 1988 European champions PSV, most recently forming a potent relationship with rookie boss Phillip Cocu which yielded three league championships in the past four seasons.
Former Barcelona midfielder Cocu led a squad with an average age of 22.9 and bursting with homegrown talent to last term's Eredivisie title by a four-point margin from Ajax.
“I have worked with three clubs over nearly 21 years, eight years at Waalwijk, five at AZ and another eight at PSV,” Brands told evertontv.
“So I am a guy that is not a ‘club-hopper’. I want to work here for a long time and build a structure that Everton can work with for a long time, and which fans can be proud of.
"Phillip Cocu was a great player, one of the best in Holland, and after his career he started thinking about coaching.
“I helped in that and had the confidence in him to be the PSV coach. For me, Marco is a little bit different [from Cocu] because it was important for me to find a coach that wanted to work within the structure we want to build here.
"We also wanted a coach with some Premier League experience, because the Premier League is something special. Marco has that and, for me, it makes him a good coach to work with.”
Brands made a conscious decision during his time at the Philips Stadion to add men steeped in PSV’s tradition and culture to the club’s academy staff, with ex-Holland internationals and Eindhoven favourites Ruud van Nistelrooy and Mark van Bommel among those employed as youth-team coaches.
One of the first people Brands met when he started work at USM Finch Farm following his move from Holland was Under-23 boss David Unsworth, a Goodison Park Academy graduate who went on to play 350 games across two spells with the Club before returning as an Academy coach five years ago. Unsworth is one of a host of people with Everton connections working in positions on the Academy or first-team staff.
And Brands, who also counts Martin Jol, Louis van Gaal and Dick Adovcaat among the managers with whom he has formed productive alliances, insists individuals with a deep understanding of the Club will have significant roles in shaping its future.
Brands also revealed he sought out opinions on Silva from players with experience of working under the former Estoril, Olympiakos and Hull City boss. And the feedback was resoundingly positive.
“I had a good feeling about Marco from our first meeting,” added Brands. “I did some homework and spoke with some players who had worked with him.
“They gave a good input and were very positive about him. I think he will be successful with Everton.
“David Unsworth told me a lot about that [the number of former players working for the Club]. I think that is very good. I like it because the former player knows the culture of the Club and understands what the fans want.
“I think it is great to have former players in the Club. Of course, you have to bring in quality as well, but they have a real Evertonian heart and that is important.”
