SEARLE’S FLEET UP FOR BATTLE
DANNY SEARLE says Ebbsfleet United have shown him in less than a fortnight they’ve got what it takes to beat the National League drop.
The former Braintree Town and Aldershot Town boss has been confirmed as the Fleet’s permanent manager after a two-game interim spell following Dennis Kutrieb’s sacking.
Searle, who will be assisted by former Conference winner Anwar Uddin, guided the Kent outfit to positive draws against promotion-chasers Oldham and runaway leaders Chesterfield.
And he thinks this week’s clarity on who will be in charge of the team long-term gives the squad the stability required for a successful relegation escape.
“The players are more than capable of surviving,” Searle told The NLP. “There’s enough quality in the building from a technical and tactical perspective. You always have to question where their heads are at mentally because, obviously, it’s been a tough season so far and that takes its toll on the players – and, I know, on the fans.
“The biggest thing for me was to see if we could get a reaction out of them. Credit to each and everyone of them, we got that in both games.”
Searle says the combination of a blank canvas and re-energising the group has paid off so far.
Fleet sauntered to the National League South title last season and were widely tipped to have another strong season.
While they’ve stumbled on the step back up to Non-League’s top flight, Searle says they’ve shown all the right attributes for a fight.
“It’s very difficult to coach resilience – not impossible but it’s difficult,” Searle said. “The most important thing is the players have got to want to have that fight to be resilient. That’s the biggest thing that came out of Chesterfield for me.
“There is a ‘however’ to that because it’s probably a bit easier to get up for a game at Chesterfield in front of 8,000 people and, the previous week, it’s probably a bit easier to get up for a game live on TV.
“Those fixtures are done now. It’s the next fixtures when there’s not
8,000 people, not
TV cameras, can you still show those characteristics? The proof will be in the pudding. But if I can speak about their mentality in training, it’s definitely improved. The energy and intensity has definitely gone up.”
Grow
Searle returns to English football following two contrasting jobs since leaving the Shots in September 2021. He had a spell as head coach of Irish side Waterford United before spending time as assistant at Czech top-flight side FC Banik Ostrava.
Searle says the experience – including coaching players who have played at the top of European football – has helped him grow as a coach and manager.
“This week has been lovely,” Searle said. “I’ve had so many messages of congratulations and quite a few have said, ‘Glad to see you back in the game’ because it’s almost like if you’re not work- ing in England, you’re not working anywhere. It’s been interesting because you get to see English football from outside the bubble.
“My head coach’s role at Waterford we had good success. We created a philosophy and the plaudits we received around the style and brand of football was a credit to my staff and the players. I learnt a lot there about who I want to be as a coach and a manager – how I want my teams to play.
“Then moving to Banik Ostrava, one of the biggest clubs in eastern Europe where one of my last games was in front of 20,000 against Slavia Prague. You’re playing against clubs who are in the last 16 of European competitions. To be in and around that environment, you can’t not learn.
“It’s all come together to help me improve as head coach and a manager. I’ve still got loads to learn and loads to do. Someone asked me: Am I in a better place than when I left Aldershot? Yes, I am.
“You have to evaluate yourself. Although with what we had at our disposal we felt like we did the best we could – and got, what would be deemed, short-term success with regard to keeping them in the league – inadvertently you make mistakes. You get things wrong like substitutions, tactics, even recruitment of players.
“But you grow. You go away and learn. I wouldn’t change the Aldershot experience for the world. Would I have rather had more success? Of course. But it’s shaped me. Now I am onto my next chapter and I think I’m better equipped to do that than I was before.”