I’M STILL HUNGRY TO GAIN SUCCESS
Boss Flowers is back in bloom with Bards
TIM FLOWERS says he can’t wait to get started after sealing a return to management at Stratford Town.
And although his CV includes guiding Solihull Moors to second in the National League, winning the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers and making his England debut against Brazil, the 54-year-old former goalkeeper insists he is just as excited about his latest challenge, starting with a Warwickshire derby with Nuneaton Borough on Tuesday.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Flowers said after stepping in at the Southern Premier Central Bards. “I still get the buzz. It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s Stratford or Solihull, everyone is in the business of trying to win football matches.
Enthusiasm
“People like Jed [McCrory – chairman] and the rest at Stratford are here because they love football and that’s the reason why I’m here. Since I was a little kid I’ve loved the game and when you’re out of it for a little while you get hungry for it. I’m here because I want to help Stratford Town achieve something. My enthusiasm for the game has probably increased over the years.” Stratford – known as the Bards to their travelling Bardy Army – suffered a run of four straight league defeats which coincided with their FA Cup exit at the hands of League One Shrewsbury Town in front of the TV cameras. That dismal run ended in midweek with a 2-0 victory at Tamworth but the club remains just three points above the drop zone.
Flowers added: “The lads had a great win the other night which probably bust a few coupons. Hopefully they will take a bit of confidence from that. We have three home games coming up and first and foremost we need to make sure we don’t get sucked in to the relegation battle.
“I’ve seen a few of Stratford’s recent games and I watched them twice in pre-season. Am I the all-seeing eye of this division – absolutely not – but you never stop learning and that will be the case for me here at Stratford.”
Team spirit
In guiding Solihull to the brink of the Football League, Flowers was known as a taskmaster and insists his standards will be just as high even though the players he is working with are now part-time.
He added: “We didn’t finish second by fluke. We had a great team spirit, good player ID with a solid group of lads who had been successful at the level.
“I understand that these boys can only train in the evenings but we will try and make it as professional as we can for them. But if I find a lack of commitment or see an attitude then my irritation levels will be the same as ever. I won’t hold back – I will make myself very clear.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen here - they seem a good bunch who had a good start to the season but have dropped off a little.
“I was told to slowly build at Solihull. It turned out that it all happened very quickly and if the same happens here then great.”
Flowers will work with the existing coaching set-up at Stratford although head coach Paul Davis has announced he has decided to leave the club.