TOWN IS NO JOKE TO ME, SAYS SWANN
GRINNING gaffer Mark Swann wants to spread smiles far and wide at Chasetown after dispelling any myths over his managerial credentials.
One of the more colourful characters on the Midlands circuit as a player, some might have mistakenly considered Swann too lighthearted for the dugout.
Midland Combination title success and an FA Vase quarter-final with Walsall Wood in 2013 was followed by League Cup glory and Midland Football League Premier Division safety at Romulus to scrub that fallacy, leading to a shot at delivering more glory days at The Scholars Ground.
And having been a part of Chasetown’s rise up the ranks under Charlie Blakemore, Swann is ready to show his serious side in pursuit of promotion.
“As you grow older you naturally become a bit wiser when it comes to doing silly things,” said Swann.
“That said, I always knew where the line was as a player and my managers would say that.
“I might have done things with a smile on my face, even over-enjoyed it at times, but I still took it very seriously. I always trained to get better and played to win.
“I was very fortunate to be in jovial dressing rooms as well, I wasn’t the only Jack the Lad. Going back to my Willenhall Town days, I think there was only one person you’d call normal to be totally honest – the rest were absolute crackpots!
“I have always been very sociable, but as much as you have to make things enjoyable for players there is a line and a change that has to happen when you go into management.”
Swann got the gig shortly after his second spell with Wood last season and has no intention of making up the numbers.
“I’m looking forward to starting with a clean slate,” he said. “We have retained a number of players and lost a few good ones but we have recruited well and brought in people who I am familiar with, who know the club and what it all means.
“I was there as a player in the good times under Charlie, I know how buoyant the club can be on and off the park when things start going well.
“Trying to bring that success on the park is key. It is the type of club where people will come through the gates, there is a good social feel to Chasetown, everyone knows everyone and you get proper fans who wear the shirt when walking down the high street. There is quite a personal connection.
“Any manager who says they don’t want to win promotion shouldn’t be managing. You need to be in it to win it.
“I always wanted to win as a player and while managing is a different feeling, that same ambition is still there. I manage to win things, you have to be doing it for a reason and that reason is success.”