Jon fully behind Neil's decision but will miss his 'best mate'
Slough Town FC: Joint boss Underwood admits he’ll miss managing the Rebels alongside his ‘best mate’
Jon Underwood will miss managing with his 'best mate', but
he’s fully behind Neil Baker’s decision to step away from the
game to care for his father.
Jon Underwood admitted this week he’ll miss having his best mate beside him in the dressing room and dugout for the next few weeks, but he’s fully behind Neil Baker’s decision to step away from the game to care for his father.
Baker announced this week he was taking a break from football to care for his father while he undergoes chemotherapy treatment, feeling he couldn’t run the risk of being with the squad for training and matches.
Away from the training pitch and match-days the pair will continue to talk and make decisions for the football club together, while Underwood says he’s been inundated with offers to support him on matchdays. He may well take up some of those offers with Mark Nisbet having already assisted him during the recent draw with Havant & Waterlooville.
“We make all of our decisions together,” he said.
“We bounce ideas off each other, and nothing will change on that outside of training and matches. But on match days those decisions will fall on me.
“We’re very much a pair.
He’s my best mate and I’m also close to his dad and know him very well. There’s no question it’s the right thing to do and I fully support it.
He added: “There have been lots of messages from people offering their support,” he said. “Bakes missed the game at Havant recently because he was with his dad and Mark Nisbet, who was injured, assisted me on the day. Sometimes it’s just nice to have someone to bounce ideas off and thoughts about how the game is going.
“I’ll decide if I feel an extra pair of eyes or ears is necessary but there has been no shortage of offers.”
Underwood is confident the side is slowly turning the corner after a dreadful run of form saw the Rebels lose four league matches in a row.
That plunged them down the National League South table but successive draws against Havant and Chippenham has seen them start to claw heir way back up the standings.
They might have lost on penalties to Dartford in the FA Trophy last week, but Underwood felt it was the side’s best display of the season and he’s confident that if they continue playing that well they’ll pick up their fair share of points.
He said: “We had four defeats in a row and then a draw at Havant and a draw at Chippenham. We were then heading for what looked like a great win over Dartford in the Trophy before they scored twice in five minutes and we ended up losing the game on penalties.
“But for 70 minutes we looked like the side we’ve been in recent seasons. The kind of side you associate with
Slough, full of energy, hard work and togetherness. We created chances and restricted them to very little. I’d like to think we’ve turned a corner, but a win is what we need.”
The Rebels, 18th with nine points so far, visit ninth placed Oxford City on Boxing Day, welcome leaders St Albans
City to Arbour Park on
Monday (December 28) before making the return trip to Oxford on Saturday week (January 2). Both sides have been flying high this season but Underwood knows his side will need to pick up positive results from the games to show they’ve truly turned their form around.
“Football at any level is about momentum and confidence and a win would kick us on another step,” he said.
“If we play like we did against Dartford we’ll pick up
points I’ve no doubt about that. We take that form into Oxford.
“They’re a good side. We then have St Albans, who are flying and then Oxford again, so it won’t be an easy Christmas. We’re playing sides that are in form.
“The league is so tight. If you string several decent performances together, you’ll get there and pick up the points you deserve.
“We’re at the point where we can start to win games and hopefully that will come over Christmas.”