BLUES ONTO A SHORE THING!
England ace in a Win-win situation
FOR many, retirement offers the opportunity to put your feet up and finally separate yourself from the stresses and strains of your previous occupation. But for Nicky Shorey, nothing could be further from the truth.
The former England international full-back has been installed in the hot seat at Bostik Premier side Wingate & Finchley alongside his former Reading teammate Glen Little and is relishing the prospect of cutting his teeth in management for the first time.
“I never thought that I would get into coaching but when my playing days ended I missed the buzz and excitement of Saturday afternoons and was immediately looking to get back into the game,” the 37-year-old told The NLP.
“I am so excited to get started. I have known Glen for a while now and we have always been great friends away from the pitch. It will be really useful to have him as my assistant because he has played and coached at this level before, which makes him an essential source of advice and guidance for me.
“I have been to watch Wingate & Finchley a bit over the last few years and I was always struck by what a welcoming club it was and what brilliant facilities they had.
“I was definitely tempted when the job came up and after having a great conversation with the chairman I was convinced that it was the perfect place to start my managerial career.
“The chairman is really enthusiastic about his hopes for the future and I quickly felt the ambition that he has for the club.”
Capped twice by England, Shorey enjoyed a distinguished playing career, making almost 500 appearances for the likes of Reading, Aston Villa and West Brom. He arrives at The Maurice Rebak Stadium having spent the last two seasons working in the coaching set-up at League Two Stevenage.
Shorey added: “I learned so much at Stevenage and I still speak to the former manager Darren Sarll regularly.
“Glen Roeder was also working for the club at the time and talking to him gave me such a brilliant insight into manage- ment because he knows pretty much everything there is to know about football in this country.
“It was during my time with Stevenage that I really developed the determination and hunger to take a bit of a gamble and try my hand at management.”
Inspire
After a ninth-place finish last season, Wingate & Finchley have suffered a disappointing start to the new campaign but Shorey is determined not to hit the panic button.
“The team are sitting at the wrong end of the table at the moment, but I am not going to come in and immediately change the squad around,” he adds.
“It is vitally important that we assess the current group of players that we have at our disposal first and give them a chance to impress.
“We have just got to take things one game at a time. We know that the situation is not going to change overnight but hopefully we can inspire an upturn in results and help the club turn a corner this season.”