Burscough FC’s new management team Craig Davies and Todd Blayney say they’re under no illusions of the difficulty of the task ahead.
The pair were named as joint-managers following the exit of Leon Mike. Mike departed his role as Linnets manager on the eve of their season opener against Prestwich Heys.
Burscough lost 3-0 in their curtain raiser with Davies and Blayney installed on Sunday night ahead of their clash with Longridge Town – which was then postponed.
The duo have a wealth of knowledge in the game with expertise in Merseyside. Blayney is the Head of Football at Steven Gerrard Academy with Davies among the coaches.
Davies was recently in charge of Prescot Cables but the pair are looking to restore the pride of the town in their local football club but by no means are looking for a quick fix.
Speaking to Off The Park, Blayney said when asked about the objectives at the club: “Short term is obviously (to) be secure, get the lads together, re-group, make sure they’re together. We want to go in and lead by example, we’ll set standards in terms of what we want.
“We’ve got to recruit a player that will come in and fight for the shirt. Look, we’re under no illusions that’s it’s going to be quite difficult but we want to build that trust back.
“Hopefully, we can do that by performances on the pitch but also a little bit less noise internally and go about our business, what we feel, is quiet and composed. Let the football do the talking if you like.
“In terms of how it come about, I spoke to Sean previously we’d sent a couple of young players from Steven Gerrard Academy, where me and Craig work.
“I think they were really happy with the boys who come in during the pre-season. It happened quite quickly, being honest it wasn’t something that was on the radar in terms of where we were going or whatever,” Blayney added on how the role came about.
“We had a good discussion, we know there’s a lot behind the scenes happening, we got put at ease straight away I’d say. We had a meeting over the weekend, planned, seemed to be developing nicely off the pitch which is dead important for us at this stage.
“We bought into it, it’s a massive club and we’re going to try get it back for the right reasons, let people speak about what it should be, being a top club and getting back competitive.”
Davies added: “I think everyone knows within the club and outside that it needs a rebuild. It’ll be stupid to think it doesn’t. So we very much look at it as a bit of a project, it’ll be a real young squad in terms of what we want to assemble, the message is to be patient and I think time is what’s needed, that’s what we’ll work through.
“We’ve been real busy since we first had discussions. People will see in the coming days that we’ve made some good signings, a mix of experience, mix of good young lads who’ve played the level and above. We’re both optimistic, we’re both hungry, we want to win games so it’s a case of seeing what we can do short term first and foremost and build on from there really.
“It’s small steps isn’t it, it’s something that’s going to take time to rebuild, we know that, we’ve bought into that,” the pair added, after they were asked about trust after becoming Burscough’s fourth management in two years.
“The players we’ve spoke to and the background they understand that. We’re going to use a blank canvas and give people opportunities where possible, it will take a couple of weeks and maybe a month till you get your strongest team on the pitch after no pre-season but we’re confident of what we brought in.
“Games are really important, we need to utilise training just see what’s there, get our philosophy sorted, playing the way we want to play and getting on the front foot. Home form is going to be important, it needs to be a place that’s difficult to come and that’s the aim. It’s long-term, it’s not going to a quick fix, we’re going to do everything in our power to change the fortunes and the culture.”
They kick-off the new era away to Silsden AFC in the FA Cup.
