Titus Bramble Opens Up on Pakistan Coaching Role With Nolberto Solano

Former Premier League defender Titus Bramble has opened up about his new role with the Pakistan national team, revealing how a reunion with former Newcastle United teammate Nolberto Solano eventually brought him into the Shaheens setup.

Speaking to The Chronicle, Bramble explained how the opportunity came almost unexpectedly after the pair met again in the UAE.

“We didn't speak for a while but I got a phone call through a friend and Nobby was in Dubai, we met up. He was in the process of getting the job with Pakistan, and he asked me if I'd be No 2.”

Despite not being in regular contact over the years, Bramble said his friendship with Solano made the reunion feel natural.

“Maybe we didn't speak every day, but the great friends are the ones you can pick up the phone to after a few months, and everything picks up where you left off years ago.”

The Pakistan job is Bramble’s first experience working with a national team, and he admits the scale of the task is huge in a country where cricket remains the dominant sport.

However, he believes there is plenty of untapped footballing talent waiting to be discovered.

“I have never worked with a national team before, so I am really enjoying the new role. It is relatively new, but all good.”

“It is a massive challenge because it is a cricketing country of 230million people. But we feel there are some hidden gems here that we can get into the team and go from there.”

For Bramble, the early focus is not on making things complicated. He wants Pakistan to build from the basics and gradually improve the players.

“It is a big challenge but an exciting one. It is breaking it down and simplifying the game. We are trying to pass down what we were taught and what we learned to the next generation.”

Modern coaching tools, particularly video analysis, are also giving Bramble and the coaching staff more ways to work with the squad.

“As a coach, it is completely different; it is my job to help them, and now we have more video analysis and the mod cons we didn't have as players. There's so many tools can only help improve the players.”

One message Bramble wants to drill into the Pakistan squad above everything else is simple: work hard first.

“The message we pass on to the guys with Pakistan now is get the bread and butter right. Work hard first. Working hard takes you places.”

He added that mistakes and bad performances can happen, but effort should never be negotiable.

“Anything else you can excuse, you can have a bad day, but what I remember is living in the North East, the people there were built on hard work, day in, day out.”

While Pakistan remain a developing football nation, Bramble and Solano are not hiding their long-term ambition of eventually taking the country to a major international tournament.

For now, though, Bramble insists the journey has to be taken one stage at a time.

“We'd love to get to a major tournament but it is step by step. Pakistan is a new nation in terms of football but Rome wasn't built in a day, so we go step by step.”

He also pointed towards Pakistan’s recent tournament victory in the Maldives as an encouraging beginning before facing tougher opposition at the FIFA ASEAN Cup.

“We have just won a tournament in the Maldives, so it was a good start. We are now in the FIFA ASEAN Cup and this will be next level opponents.”

And beyond the ASEAN Cup, the bigger targets are already clear.

“We are building towards the Asian Cup qualifiers and the World Cup qualifiers.”

For Bramble, Pakistan may still be at the beginning of its journey, but the belief inside the coaching staff is clear: find the hidden talent, establish the right mentality and build from there — step by step.