I’M A SM-ASH HIT TOO AS THE NO.1!
A 3-0 DEFEAT in your only game as interim manager may, understandably, end your long-term ambitions of a managerial career, but not for Ashton United’s Josh Wilson.
After starting the season with seven defeats in 14 games, long-serving boss Jody Banim left the Robins and the 31-year-old stepped up to the hot seat against Radcliffe.
“It was a tough couple of weeks, but it was a valuable lesson for me.,” Wilson, the former Northwich and Halifax utility man told The NLP. “I think the lads respected me for it because I tried to keep it as professional as possible for the team’s sake.
“It was a great learning experience for myself and something I’m sure I’ll look back on.
“I’ve always wanted to be a manager. Over the last few years as I’ve become more experienced, I’ve already started forming ideas that I want to implement as a manager.”
Atherton Collieries boss Michael
Clegg was swiftly to the Hurst Cross hot seat on a permanent basis and after taking five games to record his first win, Ashton only lost one of their last 10 games before the NPL’s cancellation:
“They’ve injected life, positivity and confidence into the team and that’s not easy to do.” Wilson said of the influence of Clegg and his coaching staff.
“I’ve had a 15-year career in Non-League football and it’s been one of the best impacts I’ve seen.
“They got their ideas down in the first week or two and gave us an extra week or two to let us get used to it and they got us doing it on the pitch.” Although Wilson’s longterm ambitions lay in the dugout, the versatile forward’s immediate future is on the pitch.
The former Chorley man played at centre-half and centre-midfield for the Robins this season but had finally become settled up front.
In Ashton’s last two games before the enforced suspension of the season, a 2-0 win over
Scarborough Athletic and a 3-1 victory over Mickleover Sports, the player-boss scored all five of his side’s goals.
“I enjoyed playing the different positions, I just think you get the best out of me playing centre forward,” he added.
Versatility
“Michael pulled me and said to me ‘what is your best position?’ It’s a thing I’ve had all my career to be honest. It may have even been a bit of a fault of mine, not being able to kick on and have a successful career is because I’ve never reappointed ally been able to nail a position down. I’ve hopefully shown with the goal record this season that I can still do a job up front.”
Wilson has done more than ‘a job’ up front for Clegg’s side racking up 17 of their 40 goals (42.5%) before the cancellation of the season.
His versatility though is something he sees of value for his long-term managerial goals and Wilson says he is taking steps towards that every time he trains:
“In terms of knowing the game positionally I’ve covered that with the positions I’ve played. Now I’m at the stage of my career where I probably have been for the last three or four years, I’m learning every session from my managers. like Jamie Vermiglio at Chorley and Cleggy’s the same.
“He has fresh ideas that are synonymous with today’s game. I’ve been quietly watching sessions, talking to the manager, picking their brains about tactics, talking very regularly after games about how teams have set up and how we’ve played against that.
“I’m certainly confident that when the time comes I can be a successful manager.”