IT hasn’t taken Graham Arnold long to learn how different an environment he is working in now, and how the J-League operates rather differently to the Australian game.

The former Central Coast coach faces his first competitive game in charge of Vegalta Sendai on Saturday, having only returned a few days ago from an exhausting 33-day pre-season camp at various bases in southern Japan.

While the Mariners he left behind are in all sorts of bother, after five straight losses, this is the moment where his coaching credentials really go on the line. Since he arrived in early January he has had a crash course in learning the mores and nuances of a different culture, a hands-on coach ever more reliant on his interpreter to get his tactical messages across.

Even for someone who played for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 1997 and 1998, running a team in a foreign environment is something else.

media_camera Graham Arnold at the Mariners training last season.

It’s no surprise that a leader who once brought in Steve Waugh to address the Socceroos has leaned on Eddie Jones for advice. After two World Cups and winning the A-League, this is a different beast all together.

“It is a massive challenge, because the Japanese culture is very different and it’s up to me to change my man-management style for instance,” Arnold said. “It’s a big change for the players too, having a foreign coach, as well as for me in learning the mentality of 40-something Japanese players.

“It isn’t easy at times – the interpreter does a great job but of course it can be a struggle to get stuff across. But I’m really enjoying it, and I feel like if I can be successful here then it will give me the confidence to be successful anywhere.

“The previous coach was here for six years and a lot of the players have been here a while so there is a big family atmosphere, that was really strengthened by the tsunami.

“If I’m struggling with anything it’s reading the players’ emotions and where they’re at. But I’ve had lots of one-on-one meetings and small groups, that seems to work well.”

Though there is comparatively little pressure on the team – “the journalists don’t really talk about us in terms of the Asian Champions League,” he says – there’s still a far greater level of scrutiny than he ever had at the Mariners.

“We had about 500 people come to see us off at the airport just for the pre-season trip, and there were about 750 journalists at the J-League launch,” he said. “It’s all a learning curve. It’s been good to speak to some of the other foreign coaches about their experiences, and I’m enjoying the experience of living and working overseas.

“Certainly I feel like I’m becoming a better person and a better coach for the experiences even in the time so far. We haven’t set any targets but I only have to prove anything to myself really.”

Back home, the Mariners have seen a succession of changes and departures since Arnold walked away, and the flux has fed onto the pitch. Tuesday night’s 2-0 loss to FC Seoul came after four defeats in the A-League, and Arnold’s former confidant and now replacement, Phil Moss, has promised a reaction today at home to Sydney FC.

“The Mariners will be fine, so long as they maintain the high standards and culture that Mossy and I built there,” Arnold said. “Players come and go, that was always the case, but the club and what it stands for endures.

“They’re only 90 minutes away from turning the whole thing around – which is why it’s so important to look forward, not look backwards. Don’t worry about those past results. The future is what you can try to control, and one good result changes everything.”