View from the Top with Craig Midgley
?I have a lot to be thankful for to Mossy because he brought me over here to play for Manly United from England and has given me the opportunity to follow in his footsteps as coach of the club, something I never thought in my wildest dreams would happen so I will always be grateful to him.?
That said, Manly are in the midst of a rare season by their standards and sit just off the bottom of the table (at time of writing) in what many see as a false position for the club but Midgley will not hear anything of the sort: ?We haven?t performed in games in to give us the points and although we have the two games in hand we simply haven?t been playing well enough this year.
?At this stage of the season the table doesn?t tell lies and if we are to salvage anything this year we have to perform to our capabilities.?
The players are behind the coach and vice versa but it?s on the training ground where the new coach sees the way forward: ?We are collectively working harder in training and I?ve tried to instil the right way about going to get the points in games as I see it and that is something we are doing as a team.
?We are all working harder and with a small squad we are under no illusions about the task ahead as we have, probably, one of the smallest budgets in the league but we also have quality players to work with and if I felt the guys were not doing it in training I would have no hesitation in making the hard decisions if and when I have to.
?What is the most troublesome is that we can beat a team like Blacktown 2-nil, and probably more handsomely to be honest, but the next week we come out and are on the wrong end of nil-three score line and it?s that type of inconsistency that is hurting us.?
Injury and disruption in games is part and parcel of the game and even with a slim squad the likeable coach will not use it as an excuse and admits: ?It?s the same for everyone so no excuses there and we can?t change the results this season in games past so we need to concentrate on what we can achieve in the future and that is on the training ground by getting back to basics.
?The lads we have here are all ambitious and want to win and if I thought any of them didn?t have that they wouldn?t be here, just the same as I wouldn?t be if they didn?t back me because it wouldn?t do the team nor the club any good.?
Obviously not having had the luxury of being the coach with 3-months of pre-season to shape the team, Midgley has attempted to liven up the training by doing things ?his way? but he won?t be drawn on what the changes are other than to say that of course he has his own ideas but those are for his players.
What comes across is a young man who is relishing the opportunity and task ahead but one with his feet firmly on the ground, a gent who is neither smug nor cocky but a thoughtful, articulate chap who is thankful to Phil Moss for bringing him in and to Manly United for the chance.
It is surely a heady combination that will see big dividends blossom in the years to come and no-one can begrudge the club nor Craig Midgley that surely?
-By Micky Brock