TERMINATOR DICKS BACK WITH HEYBRIDGE
Dicks is raring to go
KNOWN as ‘The Terminator’ during his illustrious playing days, Julian Dicks is showing no signs of having lost his passion and drive for success.
The former West Ham and Liverpool hard man defender is back in football management this week after taking over the reins at Bostik North side Heybridge Swifts.
And Dicks, who has previously spent time in the hot seat at Wivenhoe Town and Grays Athletic, is relishing the prospect of testing his managerial ability at Non-League level once again with a Heybridge side still smarting from the shock exit of Jody Brown last week.
“I absolutely love Non-League football and I watched Heybridge quite a few times last season, so the job is a great fit for me” Dicks told The NLP. “The team were absolutely superb last season and there was a real sense of togetherness about the club.
“I liked their style of football because they played with blood and thunder and you could see that every player was willing to stick up for one another.
“They seem to have lost their way a little this season and are sithard ting at the wrong end of the table, so it is my job to restore that winning mentality.”
Dicks’ most recent foray into coaching came at his former club West Ham, where he took on the role of first-team Coach during Slaven Bilic’s spell as manager.
“Working under Slaven was an absolutely brilliant experience and I learned so much from him, I still speak to him a lot and he is a great source of guidance,” said the 50-year-old left-back, who made 262 appearances for the Hammers.
“It goes without saying that things are a little different at this level than in the Premier League but there are many similarities, the main difference is that nowadays West Ham players are paid an absolute fortune to perform, whereas the guys here are playing purely for the love of the game.
“Whilst I didn’t realise it at the time I feel as though I have learned techniques that I can implement at Heybridge from all of the managers that I have played under, especially from the likes of Ron Saunders, Graham Souness and Harry Redknapp.”
Dicks is keen to give the current crop of players at Heybridge a chance to prove themselves but will only sign a certain criteria of player – one with a work ethic that emulated his own.
Commitment
“I need players that are going to work hard. I am not going to be signing players who won’t pull their weight because I need every single player to be passionate about this club,” Dicks added.
“We had a training session on Thursday night and I told the boys that I will give them everything that I have got. They will see my work and enthusiasm, but I must get the same level of dedication back from them.”
Dicks has now spent a number of years in coaching, but he admits that staying in football was not always his desired career path.
“When I retired I had no ambitions to go into management,” he adds.“I hung my boots up at the age of 29 due to injury and I felt quite bitter about what had happened. I always wore my heart on my sleeve and there were other players who didn’t show the same commitment but went on to lead long and successful careers.
“However, I then took the managerial job at Wivenhoe after a few years out of the game and ended up really enjoying it.
“Working in Non-League football is really special and I can’t wait to get stuck into the challenge at Heybridge.”