MCCALMON IS DELIGHTED TO BE BACK
THEY say in life to never go back, but returning boss Julian McCalmon is ready to disprove that theory in his second spell in charge of Kidlington.
McCalmon answered the call of his former club last month with the struggling Greens rock bottom of the Southern League Division One Central table with just three points to their name – after falling to eight defeats in their opening nine league games.
Since their initial parting of ways five-and-a-half months ago due to a ‘fresh start’, both McCalmon and the club have endured difficult periods with the manager experiencing a short-lived tenure in charge of Hellenic League side Abingdon Town, while the Oxfordshire club plummeted into the lower reaches of the table.
Now, McCalmon says he is delighted to be back among accustomed surroundings and is determined to bring better times to Yarnton Road.
“When I left over the summer, it was tinged with a degree of disappointment because I felt as though I could have achieved a lot more at Kidlington” he told The NLP.
“Because of that I always thought that I would come back eventually but I certainly didn’t think that it would be this quickly!
“I had a really good two seasons with the club but last summer I just felt as though I needed a new challenge
“However, I have learned that the grass is not always greener on the other side.
“I found it tough managing in the Hellenic League because it I like my teams to get the ball down and play on the ground but there was very little emphasis towards that style of football there.”
McCalmon inherits a side left behind by former manager Ady Fuller and the new boss believes that the current crop of players at his disposal are far better than their league position suggests.
“We have had a few training sessions and to be honest with you I have been impressed with what I have seen,” he adds.
“Obviously from the outside things don’t look good at all because we are sat at the bottom of the league with three points on the board and a goal difference of -33 but I can assure you that things are not all doom and gloom.
“I think that if the players can have a bit more confidence in their own ability then we should be fine this season.
“I have felt the need to dip into the transfer market a bit but I don’t want to make wholesale changes
“For example, we have only scored three times in the league this season, so I have taken the opportunity to bolster our options in the final third”.
Since his return, McCalmon has found himself in the fortuitous position of having two weeks without a competitive fixture – a real rarity in Non-League football – and the new Kidlington boss admits that this lull in the fixture schedule has proved extremely useful.
“It has been great to have had a bit of breathing space over the past few weeks,” he concluded.
“I am still yet to take charge of a game and I have had a great chance to evaluate the group of players that we have here. It has helped me to settle in again and given the players time to buy into my philosophy.
“Things are all set now and I want us to hit the ground running immediately!”