"No more," he whispered to the empty office. "Never again."
He spent the next hour doing what he should have been doing all along. He went on a one-man charm offensive. He logged into the training ground, where his players were going through a light, AI-led session, their movements lacking the usual spark, their body language a picture of quiet discontent.
He didn't call a team meeting. He went to them, one by one.
He found Grant Hanley, his suspended captain, watching from the sidelines with a frustrated expression. "Gaffer," Hanley said, not even looking at him.
"The lads... they're not happy. They feel like you've been... absent."
"I have been," Ethan admitted, his voice quiet and sincere.
"And that's my fault. I got lazy. It won't happen again. I need you, Grant. I need you to help me get them back on side."
The veteran captain just looked at him for a long, hard moment, then gave a slow, reluctant nod. "Alright, boss. But they need to hear it from you."
