Moment of Truth

Original version

BBC Radio 5 Live

Podcasts

Sport: Football

Three months in the life of a manager. This podcast goes where others don't.

A raw, tense and illuminating deep dive into the real lives of football managers. Intimate and unfiltered, this podcast reinvents fly-on-the-wall to take you where cameras can't.

What does it take to be a football manager? We all think we can do it: pick a team to win a game, sign a couple of players who looked good on FIFA....I mean, we've all played Championship Manager right? The reality is very few people can ever truly master it, can deal with the torment, the anguish, the pain of defeat or even the blessed relief of victory. And what about putting their families and friends in the firing line of fans, the media and everyone else who has an opinion on how you do your job?

For the last three months of the 2021/22 League One season, this podcast had unparalleled access to the life of a football manager as two teams battled to change their collective stories forever and win promotion to the Championship. From the dressing room to the training ground, the team bus to the technical area, Rotherham's Paul Warne and Oxford's Karl Robinson have worn microphones to record every single critical moment of the job during the tense and eventful run-in.

You'll get to eavesdrop on how the personal reality of football management is a constant gnaw of sleepless nights, skipping meals and missing out on family life. You'll hear how the wives and children have to tiptoe around their disillusioned husbands following losses and you'll listen in to how they rarely enjoy those hard-fought victories.

Narrated by Jimmy Nesbitt, Moment of Truth is an audio experience unlike any other that will give you an answer as to what it takes to manage a professional football club. This podcast is a love letter to our greatest game spread across 15 episodes. It's a rollercoaster ride through the footballing cauldron of League One where you get to sit on the bench of both teams as they battle to reach their Moment of Truth.

Moment of Truth: 13. Who Dares Wins

13. Who Dares Wins

BBC Radio 5 Live - Moment of Truth, 13. Who Dares Wins

Rotherham face the second half of a pivotal game, while Oxford assess falling short.

Rotherham face the second half of a pivotal game in their battle to seal promotion to the Championship, while Oxford assess falling short of a playoff place.

It’s halftime at the Stadium of Light and Rotherham lead by a goal to nil against promotion rivals Sunderland. Inside The Millers dressing room Paul Warne delivers a crucial speech to his team that he hopes will galvanise them for the second half, knowing they’re only 45 minutes away from promotion back to the Championship at the first time of asking.

The second half is tight and tense and, at full-time, the manager reflects on a vital night for his side inside the now-empty stadium where once the great Monkwearmouth Colliery stood.

Back in Oxford, Karl Robinson is mining for answers as to why his team fell short at the penultimate hurdle, missing out on the playoffs for the first time in three years. He gathers together his senior coaches – Wayne Brown, Leon Blackmore-Such and Craig Short – for a debrief into what went wrong, and what they need to change for next season.

The UK’s home of live news and live sport.

The UK’s home of live news and live sport. With live Premier League and FA Cup football, and Formula 1, Olympics and cricket coverage.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Moment of Truth

13. Who Dares Wins

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 5 Live

About BBC Radio 5 Live