The Jan Stejskal Interview
11th October 2004
We tracked down former Rangers 'keeper Jan Stejskal to his home country and were delighted when he agreed to conduct this interview by email. We'd like to thank Jan for taking time out of his day to do this for us and also thanks are due to Lenka Raková at Sparta Prague for acting as our translator.
QPRnet.com: How did your move to QPR come about and what did you know about the club before you joined?
JS: I knew of QPR but didn’t know much about them, other than that they were a good English club. Don Howe was in charge at the time and he offered me the chance to sign. The main challenge for me to start with was the learning the language, that was the biggest problem. I also found the style of play very different to that in the rest of Europe and that took some getting used to.
QPRnet.com: You played in the QPR side that finished 5th in the Premier league, was it frustrating to see players leave a promising side rather than the club building on the side to improve it?
JS: I think that QPR will always struggle to keep good players when there is money to made from them. I didn’t see it as frustrating because I believed that that for each player we lost we still had a good squad even after they left.
QPRnet.com: You played under Don Howe and Gerry Francis at QPR, how did they compare as managers?
JS: The biggest difference for was the training. Under Gerry the physical preparation was much more intense than with Don Howe. I obviously spent a lot of time working with Phil Parkes, who was the goalkeeping coach at QPR back then. He was a good person and a good coach, some of his training ideas I use today for my players.
QPRnet.com: You and Tony Roberts swapped the number one shirt on many occasions, did you have a good relationship with Roberts and was there a friendly rivalry?
JS: Certainly there was a rivalry but it was extremely friendly. Of course each of us wanted to be number one but we were good friends. We always roomed together during away trips we were competitive with each other but still friends.
QPRnet.com: What game was your best performance or favourite game with QPR?
JS: I couldn’t put it down to one game, however the main games that come to mind were the great wins at Old Trafford against Man United and at Ainfield against Liverpool.
QPRnet.com: You left the club in 1994, what and joined Czech club Slavia Prague. What have you done with yourself since?
JS: I continued to play up until 1999 after I retired I became goalkeeping coach at Sparta and now I do the same job for the Czech national team as well.
QPRnet.com: How did your move to QPR come about and what did you know about the club before you joined?
JS: I knew of QPR but didn’t know much about them, other than that they were a good English club. Don Howe was in charge at the time and he offered me the chance to sign. The main challenge for me to start with was the learning the language, that was the biggest problem. I also found the style of play very different to that in the rest of Europe and that took some getting used to.
QPRnet.com: You played in the QPR side that finished 5th in the Premier league, was it frustrating to see players leave a promising side rather than the club building on the side to improve it?
JS: I think that QPR will always struggle to keep good players when there is money to made from them. I didn’t see it as frustrating because I believed that that for each player we lost we still had a good squad even after they left.
QPRnet.com: You played under Don Howe and Gerry Francis at QPR, how did they compare as managers?
JS: The biggest difference for was the training. Under Gerry the physical preparation was much more intense than with Don Howe. I obviously spent a lot of time working with Phil Parkes, who was the goalkeeping coach at QPR back then. He was a good person and a good coach, some of his training ideas I use today for my players.
QPRnet.com: You and Tony Roberts swapped the number one shirt on many occasions, did you have a good relationship with Roberts and was there a friendly rivalry?
JS: Certainly there was a rivalry but it was extremely friendly. Of course each of us wanted to be number one but we were good friends. We always roomed together during away trips we were competitive with each other but still friends.
QPRnet.com: What game was your best performance or favourite game with QPR?
JS: I couldn’t put it down to one game, however the main games that come to mind were the great wins at Old Trafford against Man United and at Ainfield against Liverpool.
QPRnet.com: You left the club in 1994, what and joined Czech club Slavia Prague. What have you done with yourself since?
JS: I continued to play up until 1999 after I retired I became goalkeeping coach at Sparta and now I do the same job for the Czech national team as well.
