QUIT? YOU’RE KIDD-ING ME!
PHIL BROWN believes a lack of professionalism resulted in the ‘light going out’ at Kidderminster Harriers last season.
The former Derby County, Hull City and Southend boss was appointed Harriers manager until the end of the season in January but couldn’t save the club from relegation in their first year back in the National League.
But, Brown, and his assistant Neil McDonald, have taken the responsibility on the chin and have agreed to sign new two-year contracts at Aggborough in a bid to leave the club back into the top-flight. Ultimately, a run of just one win from their last ten matches – after Brown won his first four in charge – resulted in Harriers’ demise and Brown, 64, believes there are lessons that can be learned.
“It’s still a bit raw that we went down, to tell you the truth,” Brown said.
Professional
“Last year, it was dying, slowly but surely. The light was going out and eventually it did go out, which is not a nice feeling for a manager.
“But, regardless what’s gone in the past, it’s what’s going to happen from now on, which is the main thing. A Phil Brown way of playing, if you like, a Phil Brown team, a Phil Brown philosophy, and that starts on the recruitment side.
“We need to be professional in our approach and I don’t think we were as professional as we should have been last season. It’s probably one of the main reasons we went down. We did have an impact, no doubt about it, and the players we did have an impact on will still be at the football club next year.
“I’ve committed myself to the football club, and to Macca, for two more years and hopefully it’s non-stop success from now on. But we’ve got a lot of hard work to do. Players are away from here at the moment and there are an awful lot of them whose contracts are up.
“I’ll be having conversations when them individually as to whether they want to stay or if we want to keep them, and then I’ll be having conversations with those players who are at the football club at the moment, under contract, so that they know, in no uncertain terms, what is required to be a Kidderminster Harriers player in National League North.
“I’m going to a play-off game tonight to acclimatise myself to the ways of National League North and how brutal people tell me it is, and hopefully I’ll get a good view to see what it’s like to be at the top end of the division because that’s where we need to pitch in at.
Determination
“We need to be aiming for success from minute one. The players will have some time off away from the football club but by the time they come back in a couple of months’ time, we will have done a lot of negotiating off the field and hopefully brought in one of two players to the football club who are going to breathe some new life into us.”
Brown was brought to the club by director of football and good friend, Dean Holdsworth, who is delighted the club have convinced the management pair to stay.
“Relegation hurt us all, we must turn that hurt into determination to bounce back,” Holdsworth said.
“The arrival of Phil Brown gave the players, supporters and the whole club a new sense of belief, and the re-signing of Phil indicates the chairman’s ambition to return to the National League as soon as possible.
“We’re delighted to secure their services for another two seasons. We look forward to pressing the ‘reset’ button; plenty of hard work is already going on to ensure we are in the best possible shape to compete next season.”