SAM’S IN THE STONES ZONE
UPBEAT music, positive messages only and even group prayers – Sam Cox says Wealdstone’s survival story is something to be proud of.
The Stones won three of their final five games to avoid the National League drop after a torrid run had left them peering over a cliff.
That saw David Noble, only appointed in January after Stuart Maynard joined Notts County, part ways and the affable Cox handed the keys for the final stretch.
And the 33-year-old former Barnet, Boreham Wood, Wealdstone and Hampton midfielder couldn’t have been prouder after they pulled off a remarkable escape to secure their status.
“Obviously
I was brought in in January alongside
David Noble and Neil Banfield,”
Cox told The
NLP.
“We always knew the difficulty in the challenge ahead. We’d just sold one of our best players, Ashley Charles, to Bromley, and a change of manager with Stuart Maynard
– who had been with the club for so long and done such a good job – so it was always going to be a difficult task with a young squad. The fixture pile-up was relentless and, unfortunately, it didn’t work out.
“After the Boreham Wood game, which was a difficult defeat, I got the call from the chairman to say the club would be parting ways with David and Neil and they’d like me to take the challenge. “Listen, it was a shock. David is such a good man and was brilliant with me, along with Neil. It was just unfortunate the way things worked out. They tried their absolute best for the club and are good people.
“But it was something I was confident I could take on to try and get the best out of the boys. “From that moment it was a whirlwind with the fixture pile-up. That probably suited us. We didn’t have much time on the grass, it was just small tweaks, coaching on the go, motivation and lifting the players up after a difficult run of games.
“It was reinvigorating that confidence, love and belief into the boys that, five games, we can get out of this trouble.”
Cox gathered his whole coaching staff onto a zoom call and set out his plan to create a positive atmosphere.
“They were small changes – I brought the boys in a little bit earlier, changed the timings of teamtalks and analysis,” Cox said. “We made sure the music was on when the boys came into the changing room, made sure the tannoys were playing upbeat music, the analysis was snappy and concise.
Positivity
“Most importantly, one thing we emphasised was, all we want is positivity. I wanted the boys to feel loved, appreciated and confident. That message had to be echoed from the physio room, to S&C, to analysis and onto the pitch.”
Despite defeat in their first game against Southend United, Cox saw the spirit – as well as the in-game stats – they would need for crucial back-to-back wins against Dorking Wanderers and Chesterfield in the space of three days.
They fell to defeat against Eastleigh in their penultimate game before a final day victory at Oldham Athletic guaranteed a 16thplace finish.
“The message before the game was we weren’t going to leave our destiny in anybody else’s hands – we wanted to make sure we handled our business,” Cox added. “We wanted to put a performance on for the travelling fans and prove this is where we belong.
“Oldham have a fantastic history, are a fantastic club, but we wanted to prove a point. We didn’t go out to draw, we went out to win. We went 1-0 down but there was a belief we could score and we were absolutely fantastic in the second half.”
Wealdstone say they will speak to Cox as part of the process of recruiting their next manager.
He admits he’d relish the role but, whatever happens, the Tottenham Hotspur academy coach feels management is his calling.
“You get to go from a veteran player to being a young manager,” Cox, who has his UEFA A licence, laughed. “But seriously, it’s something I’ve always wanted to give a go.
“I’ve had an unbelievable start to my coaching career learning at the best university you can in Tottenham Hotspur and some of the coaches I’ve had the pleasure of working under. John McDermott, Alex Inglethorpe, Chris Ramsey, Bradley Allen, Ricardo Moniz – some of the best youth developers in the world.
“I’ve had experience as assistant at Welling and with my national team Guyana. This is the natural progression for me. I feel I am called to do this and I want to give it a go.
“I love this game, I love this sport. It’s moulded me into the man I am today and I want to con