Ahead of Saturday’s league match at Bishop’s Stortford (3:00 KO), manager Tim Flowers has provided an in-depth look into the opposition and the club’s current situation. He starts with his reaction to returning to Sporting…
“I’m delighted to be back at the club. Obviously I was here before and I really enjoyed my stay. I really enjoyed the support of the fans – they got right behind me, which I really appreciated. Clearly, at the end of that season, it didn’t work out with me staying, which was a shame, but football is what it is, and now I find myself back at the club, in a similar position.
“I think there are only three lads left from when I was here before – Jack Newell, Billy Shaw and Aaron Roberts – so everybody else is a different face for me to learn about and try to read as quick as I can.
“We’re obviously going to lose players – as we have done in the case of Ash Carter. I had a few conversations with him, and he was very respectful, but he didn’t want to be here and, obviously, I need lads who do want to be here.
“Christmas is a very strange time to try and do business, as clubs are clearly going to want to keep bodies around the place, in a time where there are lots of games. Then, there are lads out there who are too expensive and others who aren’t good enough. So it’s about sifting through all that and coming up with the right solutions to try and move us forward, and seeing what we can do in the next couple of weeks.
“We’ve got a really tough run coming up in the league, with Bishop’s Stortford tomorrow, Redditch on the 27th, who are having a fantastic season, and then we have Halesowen. We’ve got some really tough games, so I’ll learn quite a lot about the boys in a short space of time – we’ll try and react to that, respond, and move forward as quick as we possibly can.
“In the first two training sessions, the signs have been that the lads have worked hard. They’re a good group and we’ll learn as we go along.
“Obviously, Leon Broadhurst has come in as my assistant manager and Dan Price as goalkeeping coach; are there one or two more roles that I’d like to fill? Possibly – I will be trying to bring a couple of other people in.
“In terms of Bishop’s Stortford, they’re strong and very well organised, with a very experienced manager. They’re a good side, who are on a good little run right now, and they’re scoring goals. They’re strong and powerful, with good set plays, as they’ve got a big side.
“We’re expecting a tough game – I’ve seen the footage of when we played them first game of the season and they gave us a tough examination that day. I’m expecting a bombardment – the Alamo if you like – and we’ve got to stand up. By 5pm tomorrow afternoon, I’ll have learnt more than from our first two training sessions.
“I’m looking forward to being back at Sporting and hopefully we can get up the league and improve as much as possible.”
