AROUnD
GROUn DS
THE
EFL • nOn-LEAGUE • SCOTLAnD
You’ve been Salisbury manager since- A lifetime for any boss...
Well, I’m not just the manager! I was
one of five who bought Salisbury after
it had been liquidated – for not much
money, I hasten to add. The club had
lost an absolute fortune under the old
owners. I sometimes drive the minibus
and am here on Sunday mornings after
games, putting the pitch back together
- it’s all hands on deck. In my time as
manager, we’ve won two promotions
and reached the play-offs twice, and
had COVID to deal with on top of that.
The target now is to be competitive in
the Southern Premier.
When you arrived, there weren’t any
players on the books. How have you
managed to enjoy so much success?
There was nothing here at all when we
arrived. We had no players in June, sowe staged four trial games across the
summer. A lot of the players weren’t
very good, but there were one or two
golden nuggets and it’s about spotting
potential. We drew our first competitive
game, lost the second, then went 35
unbeaten. People probably denigrate
what we’ve done here because of the
level, but there are sides that just can’t
get out of these lower leagues. We did
it in our first year after literally putting
a team together in a month.The squad was so thin at one point,
you even made some appearances.
Talking about scraping the barrel...
[Laughs] Unfortunately that’s true! But
that was only in our first year. I initially
played in a friendly against my old club
Portsmouth, as a few of the lads we’d
signed were on holiday and we couldn’t
get a team out. Then I had to play in an
FA Cup tie against Fareham at the ripe
old age of 51. I was brought down for
a penalty in that match. I stupidly let
our regular taker have it – if I’d known
I’d have become the oldest player to
score in the FA Cup, I wouldn’t have!As a city, Salisbury suffered in the
wake of the 2018 poisoning scandal.
Did the negative PR affect the club?
We just try to do our best for the local
community. Salisbury FC is part of the
city like any other club, and we try to
give our fans something positive that
brings us together. What happened
was absolutely awful, but Salisbury is
probably the safest place in the country
after all the action that’s been taken.
There’s a big army presence here now.The incident had an adverse effect on
crowds, but not in the same league as
COVID. You can never underestimate
the resolve of the public, and luckily
we’re seeing things return to normal.Given how well Salisbury have done
under your stewardship, on and off
the field, you must have had a few
offers to take jobs at a higher level?
I haven’t actually, and I do think that’s
a bit odd. In lower-league football, it’soften the case that those who give out
the jobs don’t know enough about the
game – decision-makers who maybe
don’t have a football background. They
will see someone who’s managed at
a higher level and offer them a job over
a better alternative. It may not matter
how poorly they did in the previous job.Is managing higher a target for you?
Everybody who knows me, talks to me
and sees me work asks why I’m not
managing in the full-time professional
game. That’s my goal, as only then can
you really improve players and work
with them daily. I don’t know if there’s
a perception that I carry, but I’m not
inundated with offers. Having said that,
Salisbury has been brilliant for me and
I’m loving every minute. My aim right
now is to help this club rise as high as
it possibly can.“TV WORK PAID WELL,
BUT STOPPED ME FROM
HELPInG PLAYERS BE
THE BEST THEY CAn BE”
AROUnD THE
GROUnDSThe former striker turned
out for 22 different clubs
in an itinerant career, but
has managed Salisbury
since 2015 – and wants
his shot at a higher levelInTERVIEW
STEVE CLARIDGE
Interview Ed McCambridge
84 June 2022 FourFourTwo