Morning,
"“It’s easy for me to say we practice in training, but we do. However, that’s when your mate doesn’t want to cut your eye in. In matches, you can’t be afraid to get cut and get hurt.”
–Did I get the situation right: (the manager had to explain their weakness at the corners). The only meaningful explanation of ‘cut one’s eyes at/on after smb’ I found /Collins/ --“to look rudely at a person and then turn one’s face away”.
So as I got it, it’s wrong when you mis-clear the ball and get a look full of contempt from your teammate. (?)
I don’t think it can be that. Not only does the preposition seem wrong, the target seems wrong too. In that meaning, your mate would cut his eye (at you), not cut your eye. However, unless it’s literal (which seems oddly specific), I don’t know what else it could mean. There seem to be zero Google hits for “cut your eye in” in non-literal senses.
Yes, "a riddle wrapped in an enigma’ or something like that… The Scot (the manager) may not have attended english-test.net otherwise he would use plainer English… 
Being pressurized by the reporters following his team’s sixth defeat in a row though, you could easily misuse prepositions (and not only them).
“Your mate doesn’t want to cut your eye in/at [him]”, does it sound unnatural? What otherwise could you make out of “In matches, you can’t be afraid to get cut and get hurt.” (‘cut’ in the sense of ‘mis-clear’)?
OR: "“Your mate doesn’t want [you] to cut your eye in/at [him]”?
I am not familiar with the expression that you found in Collins (which, incidentally, it says is Caribbean), so I can only go by how I would expect it to work.
“Your mate doesn’t want to cut your eye at him” does not appear to make sense. One can only cut one’s own eye at someone, not someone else’s.
“Your mate doesn’t want you to cut your eye at him” would appear to make sense.
It doesn’t seem likely to me that anyone would accidentally use the preposition “in” in that expression. It seems wrong, even to me who doesn’t know the expression.
Overall, I’m not persuaded at all that the original quote has any connection with this expression.
I notice that you say the quote is in relation to taking corners. Perhaps when players are jumping up to head corner kicks there is a risk of banging heads and getting cuts around the eye?
Quote: “Perhaps when players are jumping up to head corner kicks there is a risk of banging heads and getting cuts around the eye?”
–Yes. That really makes sense. The defenders are afraid to cut each other’s eyes which is why they concede that lots of goals at the corners. Well done, Mr Manager! Worth every penny.
When you say “That really makes sense” are you being sarcastic?
Dozy,
- “He cut his eye at me, but I don’t like it.”
- “He winked his eye at me, but I don’t like it.”
Does #1 mean #2?
As Dozy has already said ‘cut your eye at’ is not a standard English expression and would not be understood as making any sense to the vast majority of native English speakers (UK or US).
Sorry to have delayed with my reply, Dozy.
I meant that really makes sense. The manager had to explain their being all over the place defensively and he didn’t find better excuse for his charges than them being afraid (they all professionals!) to hurt themselves. A unique explanation, don’t you find?
My last remark surely meant to be sarcastic. Keeping a manager like him in a PL team…?
Thanks for your time again.
Sorry Eugene, my mistake, I read it as if the whole reply was sarcastic.