TON-UP RELIEF IS A CATALYST FOR GREAVES
CENTURION Tom Greaves is delighted to be out of the nervous 90s – and now FC United of Manchester’s record goalscorer is determined to fire the Red Rebels up the table.
Greaves scored his 99th and 100th club goals in the 3-2 National League North against promotion hopefuls Harrogate Town last weekend.
It saw the striker leap to the top of the club’s all-time scoring list. But it was also a vital three points for Greaves, who recently landed the player-manager’s job.
He’s FCUM’s second manager ever following the depature of Karl Marginson after 12 years at the helm in October.
“It’s an absolute honour to be up there,” Greaves told The NLP. “It’s been a cloud over my head for ages because I’ve been in the 90s for a while now. When I found myself out of the squad and the team I wondered if it was ever going to come and if I might have to throw in the towel before I got there.
“When it went in it was a special moment – something I will never forget. The goal made it 3-1 so when it went in I was more thinking that the game was won rather than it was my 100th goal. That was the most important thing!”
The 32-year-old was more worried about his place in the team ahead of the new season, let alone be picking by the end of October.
Four wins and two draws in a successful caretaker spell led to Greaves and his coaching staff Jack Doyle and Tom Conroy to be handed the reins permanently.
“It probably came a couple of years before I’d think about it really, but this opportunity for me might never come around again so I tried to grab it with both hands,” he said.
“I found myself on the bench quite a bit this season, and last. I’d been thinking, ‘Have I still got it in me to keep playing? Do I need to drop down a couple of levels?’ Things like that go through your mind.
“I bottled down, tried to have a good preseason, felt like I did but just never got that No.9 shirt and it was getting a little bit frustrating.
“So the more I’m thinking, ‘Am I good enough anymore?’ the more I’m thinking about management. You get those doubts but I still want to be scoring goals and part of the dressing room so it’s been a difficult transition period.”
Greaves admits getting used to crossing over from player to manager has taken some getting used to.
“I’m friends with everyone in the dressing room so it’s little things like picking the team and leaving someone out who might have been my best friend a few weeks ago,” he said. “It’s a difficult one and you feel sorry for them but I’ve got to take the emotion away from it.
“Every team I pick is to try and win that game, it’s nothing personal. But over time I’m sure I will get used to that. The lads have been great. They’ve taken to me, Jack and Tom really well, enjoyed the coaching we’ve put on and you can’t not enjoy wins like last Saturday.”
It was a vital three points towards their ultimate goal of National League survival.
“We’re under no illusions we’re still in a relegation battle,” Greaves said. “We could win a couple of games and look like we’re close to the play-offs. But you lose a couple and you get sucked right back in again. It’s so tight.”