Galvanise plan in place for Tim
NEW Macclesfield Town manager Tim Flowers insists his top priority is to ‘galvanise’ the club and kickstart a new, positive era.
Flowers took charge at the Moss Rose at the end of August is busy trying to put a squad into place in time for the new National League season which kicks off on October 3.
His recruitment drive began in earnest this week with several new arrivals to the Moss Rose.
The release of the fixture list on Tuesday also helped Flowers and his backroom team map out the forthcoming season and the new man in charge is keen to put meat on the bones of his ideal squad.
“I want to try and galvanise the Football Club,” he said.
“I guess from the supporters’ point of view, as a Macc fan, you have been sat at home and there has not been a lot of news, because there has been no news to give.
“We have obviously lost the players on the roster; I have followed it and been looking at it.
“Fiacre Kelleher, who we had at Solihull, who I loved, and then players like Ben Tollitt were still hanging around and I thought the first job is to try and talk to them - but they didn’t want to stay so we are where we are.
“I think they have probably been battered and bruised to the point where they want a clean break. Okay fine, we have moved on now and we have to look elsewhere.
“There will be a lot of people that will want to come and play here, and my job is to get the right ones.
“The Macc fans will know the level as they have bounced up and down the last few years, winning the league with John (Askey) and a really functional 4-4-1-1 with the two lads Wilson and Marsh up top scoring goals – I can remember the team vividly.
“So, they understand what it takes, I understand what it takes because I have studied it; but the key now is to get some players under the door and get cracking.
“We need to look at some shapes, maybe a three at the back, at Solihull I was 4-3-3 but we also then morphed into a three because of personnel, and we had a lot of success with both shapes but there might be a time in a game where we need to switch to match a three at the back so we will be looking at different systems as well.
“I am hoping to get the start of a group and get some sessions on by no later than Tuesday or Wednesday at Alsager, which is a fantastic facility.
“Then we need players coming in on a constant basis so we can get a squad and a team to play a friendly.
“We need to try, now that everyone else has sorted theirs, to beg, borrow and steal a couple of matches somewhere and get some sort of structure to our team.”
To that end, the Silkmen have announced they will make the journey down to The New Bucks Head on Saturday 26th September, in order to take on old rivals Telford United in a pre-season fixture.
Flowers will take his side down to Shropshire for a 3pm kick-off.
Though the new man in charge played at the highest level – winning the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers and earning 11 caps for England – he insists he’s always been drawn to the National League as a coach.
“My playing career was a long time ago, the level I played at and all that means nothing because what I very quickly realised when I retired, was that I have always studied
‘A lot of people will want to come and play here, and my job is to get the right ones’
National League and non-league football,” he said.
“On a free Tuesday or a free Saturday if I went to a game it was always Kidderminster, Tamworth, Nuneaton, Brackley.
“I always went to nonleague football and was always looking at players’ levels.
“Gary Whild has also got masses of contacts, so names are not a problem, it is getting a blend and a cohesion and a group and a mentality that understand this level.
“The supporters now will have an idea as to who will be sitting in the hot seat and who the technical staff are like Gaz and Danny and will be safe in the knowledge that we will try to move heaven and earth to first of all stabilise the Football Club, be competitive in a very competitive division, and then build into the season.
“We are way behind the A-ball in regard to reporting back, Solihull have been back over two weeks and have six friendlies lined up – that is how far behind we are.”