# Competitive Match Running Speed Demands and Impact of Changing the Head Coach in Non-League Professional Football

## TL;DR

In non-league professional football, wide defenders and midfielders run more, and changing head coaches reduces running performance without improving match outcomes.

## Contribution

This study quantifies match running speed demands in non-league football and reveals the impact of head coach changes on player performance.

## Key findings

- Wide defenders and midfielders cover greater distances during matches compared to central defenders and strikers.
- Changing the head coach significantly reduces total running distance and other speed metrics without improving match outcomes.
- High-speed running and sprinting distances in non-league football are notably lower than in higher competitive levels.

## Abstract

What are the main findings?
Positional roles influence match running speed demands in professional Non-League Football, with wide defenders and midfielders covering greater distances.Head Coach changes significantly reduce running performance but do not improve match outcomes.

Positional roles influence match running speed demands in professional Non-League Football, with wide defenders and midfielders covering greater distances.

Head Coach changes significantly reduce running performance but do not improve match outcomes.

What is the implication of the main finding?
Understanding running speed demands in professional NLF is key to informing training practices, player conditioning, and tactical strategies tailored to this level.

Understanding running speed demands in professional NLF is key to informing training practices, player conditioning, and tactical strategies tailored to this level.

Match running speed demands vary across competitive levels of football, influenced by player position, tactical considerations, and Head Coach changes. In England, the level directly below professional football, Non-League Football (NLF), comprises full-time and part-time clubs. However, the running speed demands of professional teams at this level remain unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate (1) the match running speed demands in a professional NLF team, and (2) the impact of changing the Head Coach on these physical demands. Match running speed data were collected via Polar Team Pro global positioning system (GPS) devices during 41 matches of a tier 6 NLF team, comprising 311 observations of 22 full-time outfield players. Linear mixed-effect models examined the relationship between running speed metrics and fixed effects of a Head Coach change (n = 3), player position, and match outcome, with match number as a random effect. The team average total distance (TD) was 10,479 ± 42 m, and high-speed running and sprinting were 431 ± 62 m and 99 ± 26 m, respectively. The results showed significant positional differences, with wide defenders and midfielders associated with a greater TD than central defenders and strikers. Moreover, a change in Head Coach was significantly associated with a reduced TD, and a similar downward trend was observed across other running speed metrics. The TD and positional differences observed are comparable with other football cohorts, yet HSR and sprinting distances were notably lower in professional NLF. The findings highlight NLF clubs’ challenges in transitioning to higher competitive levels and provide insights for performance and training. Further research is warranted to explore the influence of running speed demands, technical and tactical factors, and other determinants on success in NLF.