Paul Pierce Quotes

When things aren't going well, it's very easy to blame the coaching staff.

The key is having great players. But there are a lot of teams that have All-Stars and haven't been able to put it together.

I think that winning creates chemistry, as opposed to other way around. I've been on a lot of friendly teams that couldn't win, trust me.

When I had people scratchin' my shorts a bit, it played better. We lost a bit of that in all the personnel changes and it's an element we need to get back.

As a player, I have this feeling - and I think every player thinks this - that I am responsible for how my team-mates feel. I just want to do my best and give 100 per cent, and if I do that, they will feel better and think, 'I will give 100%.'

Sometimes you get a team that has almost forgotten how to win. That's maybe fallen away from the standards that should be set at this level. Some are big problems, some of them are small problems.

In this business, a lot of coaches are running around thinking they're the reason their teams are winning.

Each season and each team is different. It takes on a different personality every year.

If you're not starting well and not taking the lead, then you're constantly putting pressure on yourself as a team.

You have to choose the right club with the right people. That can have an impact when things aren't going the right way - especially when you lose 7-0!

When I was in the GB Women's football team at the 2012 Olympics, it was obvious who was in the first XI and who was making up the numbers. Kelly Smith was going to be first-choice striker no matter what, and the other forwards in the squad mentally checked out as a result.

I think Mark Hughes is the type of manager people want to play for.

All it takes is one guy to change a locker room. To change the complexity or nature of an atmosphere.

Neil Lennon was a great manager; he really got your team in the mood and wanting to play for him.

Players want to go where the team wins and where the team has a great culture, ownership and all of that. It doesn't matter where you are. It really doesn't matter, you have to perform and you have to win.

I think the tone that the head coach sets transcends to the team.

It would be worse if I have players who are happy if they sit on the bench, because that doesn't mean that we develop our game.

You bring in Joao Moutinho and it's not just how he plays it's the experience he brings to the team and to the group.

When the team's not playing well offensively, it's always a problem for me because I'm not an individualistic player.

When I first came to the Eagles, I found a bunch of guys shell-shocked from losing. They had been through some lean years, they just didn't know how to handle the pressure. They were quiet; they kept to themselves. I said, " Hey, this has gotta change. Let's make pressure fun."

The best teams I've had had a little bit of swagger.

That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you.

You take a team with twenty-five assholes and I'll show you a pennant. I'll show you the New York Yankees.

On every team, there is a core group that sets the tone for everyone else. If the tone is positive, you have half the battle won. If it is negative, you are beaten before you ever walk on the field.

When you're captain you get involved in a lot of things. You're trying to get the best out of players and subconsciously, without knowing, it gets to you.