Glenn Roeder was forced to thumb through his contacts book when Newcastle drew FK Ventspils in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round. One of those he got in touch with was Paul Ashworth and Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson found out why.
THEY say it helps to have friends in high places and, when it comes to the world of Latvian football, it is hard to imagine someone with more exalted acquaintances than Glenn Roeder.
Since the draw for this evening's UEFA Cup second qualifying-round clash with FK Venstpils was made, the Newcastle manager has been able to court the opinion of the Baltic equivalent of both Sir Bobby Robson and Jose Mourinho. That they are both British speaks volumes for the extent to which football has become the first truly globalised sport.
Sitting in his house in Ventspils, a port town on Latvia's North-West coast, Paul Ashworth is hardly your typical English manager. For a start, he is successful.
Unknown in his homeland, Ashworth, currently the manager of Latvia's most established club, Skonto Riga, is big news in the Baltics.
Commonly compared with Mourinho, he has not allowed an unsuccessful playing career to prevent him becoming one of the foremost young managers in Eastern Europe. Last season's championship win with Skonto merely cemented his reputation as a viable contender to Chelsea's mercurial Portuguese.
"I haven't followed a conventional career plan," said Ashworth, and that much is certainly true.
Released by Norwich as an 18-year-old, he joined Cambridge United as a development officer, which was when he first came into contact with Gary Johnson, Roeder's other mole in the Latvian camp.
Johnson went on to manage Latvia's national side and, when the president of Ventspils asked him to source an Englishman willing to join him in the former Soviet state, Ashworth's was the first name on the list.
He went on to enjoy two successful seasons in charge of the club, before becoming the first Britain to work in the Russian Premier League when he took charge of Rostov. Last year, he returned to Latvia to take charge of Skonto, a position he continues to hold today.
"When the chance to go to Latvia came up, I didn't think they were serious," said Ashworth, whose Skonto side are in European action themselves tonight in Norway. "I was only 30 at the time but it proved to be a great move.
"I really feel at home in Latvia now. I have been here five-and-a-half-years and I consider it my home, more so than England. I have a Latvian wife, my daughter was born here and we have another child on the way.
"Riga is a beautiful city, as nice as anywhere in Europe. The standard of living, the architecture, everything about it is great.
"As for the football, the standard in the Latvian league gets higher and higher every year and it's no different this time. But, in general terms, Latvian football is not the strongest.
"Latvia qualified for the European Championships in 2004 and everyone still talks about that, it really raised the profile of the sport over here.
"But it has put a lot more pressure on Latvian footballers to remain at that standard and the expectations are unrealistic.
"This is a country with a population of only 2.5m people, it is a tiny place, so to expect Latvia to keep qualifying is wrong. It won't happen often."
Neither, it seems, will European success on the club stage. Last season, Ventspils lost to Irish side Linfield at the same stage of the UEFA Cup, underlining their perceived lack of pedigree.
Ashworth's Skonto side beat Ventspils 2-1 in the semi-final of the Latvian Cup last weekend and, despite Newcastle's lack of attacking firepower, he does not envisage a shock result tonight.
"This is a big game for Latvian football," he said. "When Ventspils played Stuttgart a few years ago, it was their biggest-ever game. I think this could overtake it.
"But there is no-one here who realistically expects Ventspils to beat Newcastle. No-one thinks they have a chance. If Newcastle under-estimate Ventspils, they could maybe sneak a lucky draw at home. But if Newcastle take it seriously, you would be looking at 6-0 or 7-0 on aggregate."
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