WITH a CV including playing spells in Portugal and Iceland, Conor Sellars takes his coaching influences from far and wide.

City’s joint-interim boss also grew up a huge fan of Italian football and admits his approach has been heavily influenced from overseas.

The methods have clearly transferred well to Valley Parade as Sellars and Mark Trueman mastermind an upturn in fortunes on the pitch.

Last week’s 3-2 loss at Exeter was the first in nine outings under the former academy duo since they stepped up following Stuart McCall’s sacking in December.

Sellars retired from playing at the age of 26 to concentrate on coaching.

The former attacking midfielder came through the system at Middlesbrough before playing non-league with Hallam, both Harrogate clubs, Worksop and Tadcaster.

But he also spent time abroad – as a teenager with CF Fao in Braga playing in the fourth tier of Portuguese football and then with IF Hottur at the third level in Iceland.

That broadened his horizons and opened his eyes to a different way of playing – something he has brought to his coaching methods.

Sellars said: “I was in an academy since the age of seven all the way to 18. I ended up going into professional football a little bit and played abroad.

“I got used to playing in different teams in different cultures and we used to go abroad every year. You find out different things as a player and a coach.

“When I was younger, I used to watch a lot of foreign football – Serie A was the top gun back then.

“My team was Inter – Ronaldo, (Alvaro) Recoba, those type of players.

“It’s different because of weather, a lot of it.

“You go to the hotter countries and the pressing game is more strategic and planned – blocks of pressing and sitting off.

“It just complements the country that you are from.

“I’m not going to say this league is like La Liga or Serie A or anything like that. It’s totally different but I think you’ve got to try and understand different cultures and learn as much as you can as a coach.

“If there is some method that you believe can work, be brave enough to try it as well.”

The City squad have certainly bought into the changes since the interim pair were promoted to the helm.

Players have credited Trueman and Sellars with introducing more organisation to their play and in-depth preparation ahead of games – with individuals sent more tailored analysis on the specific opponent they are likely to face.

Sellars added: “You just build up as you go along. Everybody has got their style of play and what they prefer.

“Everybody’s different and what Mark and I do well is that we’re both aligned in how we see football.

“We’ve got a blueprint that we work from which we try to implement and have been for the past few years.

“Obviously, we’ve got loads to learn and we’re learning while we’re playing against League Two teams and the different threats they have.

“We’re just constantly evolving and trying to support the players as much as we can.

“Mark and I have worked together for a number of years and tried to find the balance of what works best for us.

“We have a really good relationship on the pitch and our understanding of each other is good. It’s nice as a duo to have that and bounce off each other really well.

“We’ve both got our responsibilities and we’re clear and concise with whose role is what.

“We try to be really organised and replicate the game as much as possible in terms of the intensity and the things that we are working on.

“We’re just trying to prepare the players for what they are going to face against different systems and different teams.”

City are bracing themselves for a hectic couple of months now after the latest postponement against Salford added to the fixture pile-up.

Morecambe’s visit to Valley Parade tomorrow is the first of four successive Tuesday games – with another four to fit in after that.

With the Scunthorpe trip abandoned because of snow, Sellars and Trueman face the conundrum of whether to stick with the same starting line-up. Danny Rowe is now available to return.

“It’s a headache to have when you’ve got good players in the building,” said Sellars.

“That’s the drama. If you’ve got evidence to back up there’s maybe a potential risk of injury, that may warrant a change in the line-up.

“But these are the kind of discussions that do take place.

“You have to make sure that players aren’t playing too many 90 minutes in a row and are getting enough rest, so they are fit for games.”