Newcastle United have appointed Martin Mark as the club's new set-piece coach and the Dane could prove an important addition behind the scenes
Newcastle United's new set-piece coach Martin Mark
Newcastle United's new set-piece coach Martin Mark
Walk into the communal area of FC Midtjylland's training ground and there is a giant league table with a difference.
There are no points totals here. Each Danish top-flight side are instead ranked by their goal difference from set-pieces.
Martin Mark had no place to hide, but these standings ended up proving a source of pride for the set-play expert during his time at the club. Midtjylland even scored more goals from corners, free-kicks and long throws (19) than any other side in the league last season while only Lyngby, Randers and Viborg conceded fewer (eight).
These are the sorts of numbers that Mark will now be targeting at Newcastle United after becoming the Magpies' first ever dedicated set-play coach so what was the Dane's secret at Midtjylland? Let's ask former defender Stefan Gartenmann.
"It was his attention to detail," he told ChronicleLive. "Martin is very detail-oriented. He will watch a thousand clips of a certain opponent if that's what it takes to find out where to hit them and he will watch our set-pieces back 100 times to see where we can improve.
Martin Mark
Martin Mark
"He is a nerd. He doesn't have the biggest footballing background, but his interest in football is huge and he loves going into the smallest details."
The smallest details can lead to big results, of course, and Newcastle need no reminding of that after the Magpies worked diligently on set-plays a couple of weeks before the Carabao Cup final back in March.
Newcastle's eagle-eyed staff spotted Liverpool's vulnerabilities in deeper areas inside the box and Dan Burn went on to exploit the holders' weakness with a thumping header to put the black-and-whites in front at Wembley.
It was just one example of the work of assistant Jason Tindall and set-play analyst Kieran Taylor, who have laid a solid foundation for Mark to build on.
In fact, only Brentford, Aston Villa and Manchester City conceded fewer goals than Newcastle (eight) from set-pieces in the Premier League last season.
Newcastle also scored 13 goals from set-plays in the top-flight in 2024-25 - just four fewer than Arsenal, who led the way. However, digging deeper, there is still room for improvement after Newcastle only bagged five goals from corners.
Dan Burn opens the scoring in the Carabao Cup final
Dan Burn opens the scoring in the Carabao Cup final
Given the height in the team, and the buy-in from players and staff, there is scope to increase these numbers - even if this will be a step up for Mark against some of the best set-play coaches in the world.
However, you suspect this is a challenge Mark will relish. Just as Eddie Howe sets his side out to be aggressive from open play, Mark wants to 'dominate the opponent on set-pieces and put pressure on them'.
Mark spends 90% of his time on attacking set-plays and rather than flooding the players' minds with a host of complicated routines, the Dane instead prefers to go into games with just a handful of well-drilled plays.
It is one thing coming up with these ideas, though, alongside an analyst. A set-piece coach also needs to be personable enough to get his message across as former Midtjylland captain Erik Sviatchenko explained.
"Martin was first and foremost very genuine as a person and connected really well with players and staff," he recalled to ChronicleLive. "He was always very much part of the group and that is where a good set-piece team starts.
"Then Martin would spend a tremendous amount of time detailing and pushing this element of the game. Having this specific role at a club and then utilising it, that is where magic can happen and success can spark. He also improved a lot from being young and inexperienced to being a very strong leader with the set-pieces."
Martin Mark has been working under FC Midtjylland boss Thomas Thomasberg
Martin Mark has been working under FC Midtjylland boss Thomas Thomasberg
It has been quite a rise. Mark was working with Midtjylland's under-15s side just a few years ago, but the Dane has since developed into a set-play expert in the ideal environment.
Set-pieces, after all, are a huge part of Midtjylland's identity and dedicating time and resources to dead ball situations helped the club to disrupt the established order and win titles in 2024, 2020, 2018 and 2015.
Midtjylland have long been at the cutting edge as one of the world's best sides at set-plays - hiring the first ever set-piece coach and set-piece analyst in Denmark; using data effectively; integrating dead ball situations into open play training sessions; putting emphasis on second balls as much as deliveries; and, even, building a 'wall' to practice free-kicks.
A host of set-play coaches and analysts have, tellingly, spent time at Midtjylland before going on to even bigger things, including Austin MacPhee (Aston Villa and Portugal), Mads Buttgereit (Germany), Carles Safont Aparicio (Manchester City) and Jose Rodriguez Calvo (Aston Villa).
Mark is the latest in a long line to prosper at a club whose alternative league table even left its mark on freelance throw-in specialist Thomas Gronnemark, who worked with the 31-year-old last season.
"You look at it 10 times a day - not only as a set-piece coach like Martin but the other coaches and the players," he told ChronicleLive. "You look at this all the time and realise, 'Wow, set-pieces can be a great advantage for us.'
"You can train in open play in many different ways, but you have more control in set-pieces. If you have broader specialist knowledge in set-pieces like Martin, you can make a great difference to a team like Newcastle United."