Young’s guns are Spurred on by cup glory
Boss Neil Young looks back on Marine’s FA Cup fairytale
THE FA Cup bandwagon may have rolled out of Marine just over a month ago, but Neil Young is still getting interview requests from across the world.
“I’ve got one with someone in Michigan this week,” Young laughs on the embers of the Tottenham Hotspur game that are clearly still burning.
The bigger legacy for the Pitching In Northern Premier League Division One North West club will be the 3G pitch they will put down and the increase in community activity and awareness.
But for boss Young it’s also been about tying down some of their brightest talents that have shone in the FA Cup run. Rightback Josh Solomon-Davies has signed a new deal, joining the likes of keeper Bayleigh Passant and attacker Neil Kengi.
“Our recruiting strategy we’ve had since the first year we came in, this FA Cup run has allowed to progress that a little bit but it’s also given us a clear vision of where we’re at,” Young says.
“It proves they’re all enjoying their football that they’ve committed to us. I say to young lads – obviously I’ve been in the game a long time now – that I used to always hear young players want to play this level, that level, the other level. I think the key thing for young players is that they’re playing, whatever that level looks like.
“If they can get in a good club, with a good culture and environment with good coaching – I’d like to think that’s what we provide – then playing regularly for us is as good as taking their chances elsewhere.
“Don’t get me wrong, if a National League club comes for them then that’s it. But if they’re still learning their trade and there’s a lot of development to do, it’s there.
“I do think with the three younger players we’ve signed – Bailey, Josh and Neil – they’ve all definitely got a chance of playing higher.
“Of course, they need to develop, they need to understand the game that little bit more. But they’ve come on a lot and the Cup run has helped massively because we’ve had to do a lot of work tactically and we’ve seen all the players improve.
“I talk to young players all the time and I understand when you’re talking to them as a manager, they think you’re telling them one story because you want to get them at your club. But I’m past that, really.
“Whatever young player I to I say you can’t be spotted by a Football League club if you’re sat on the bench on in the stand. The key thing is playing football. The other thing is, and it’s not easy, if you can be playing for a good club who are challenging.
Belief
“If you’re going to shine as a young player, they normally do if teams are doing well. It’s quite difficult, even if they’ve got all the ability in the world, if a team is struggling with confidence.”
Indeed, Young is big on confidence. He sees young footballers all the time that just lack belief but if they can discover it can go onto big things.
The former Colwyn Bay and Chester manager gets as much enjoyment out of developing a player as he does getting that three points at the weekend.
His biggest reference point for aspiring players to be playing regular football regardless of the level is Antoni
Sarcevic.
Now captain of Bolton, he’s also won promotion in the EFL with Fleetwood and Plymouth Argyle since ripping up the Conference North with Chester.
Young first saw the attacker when he was at Woodley Sports and took on Young’s Colwyn Bay.
“Who the bloody hell is he?” Young recalls thinking as he jotted his name down in his little black book. Sarcevic went onto Crewe Alexandra but when there was a chance of getting him at Chester, he jumped at it.
“We were in the Northern Premier League and then in Conference North he was just on another planet,” Young says. “He was Player of the Year, got a first England C cap and then on the first day of pre-season we finally struck a deal with Fleetwood and he went there as a pro.
“We went to Colwyn Bay on a Bank Holiday Monday, I’ll nevspeak er forget it. We were battering them. If you criticised Antoni, you got his back up. I remember saying to him, ‘When was the last time you scored?’ He wasn’t happy.
“He picked the ball up in our penalty box from their corner. He ran the full-length of the pitch, past about five men, got to the corner of the box and bent it into the top corner. An unbelievable goal.
Momentum
“The week after we played Harrogate, they were having a go, a really strong side. They couldn’t get near him. He was probably only 21. He scored this volley, not as good as, but similar to Henry’s against Manchester United for Arsenal. We won 3-1 and he just ran the game.
“It was all about confidence. We built him up in the press. We’d let Alex Brown go. Alex was a top player. I was asked on the eve of the season by the press, ‘Who are you go- ingto play centre midfield?’ I said, ‘Antoni Sarcevic’. They said, ‘Do you think he is good enough?’ I just said, ‘Watch him fly’.
“That’s why we’ve been keen to keep our younger players because they’re not easy to find.”
Young is confident his youngsters can play much higher and he believes Marine give them the perfect environment to flourish.
“The cup run has done everyone the world of good,” Young says. “Everyone goes mad about football cliches, but momentum has been everything.
“If you get that momentum and belief, you just see lads’ confidence grow. They think they can go out and beat anyone and put in a performance against anyone.”