On Saturday, Rod Stringer returned to the Welling United dug-out and guided the team to an FA Trophy victory at Royston Town.
That ended a tumultuous week for the Wings in which manager Lee Martin was relieved of his duties and Stringer brought in as interim in the evening before their trip to Hertfordshire. After the match he spoke firstly about the match, and then the circumstances leading up to it.
“To come in and meet the players before the game, to a man, I thought we were outstanding.” he said. “I thought that it was a real good organised performance against a team that are at the same level as us. They knocked (Isthmian league leader) Brentwood out in the last round so we knew that it was going to be a tough tie. It’s a tough place to come. We had to put some square pegs in round holes but I though everybody just gave us that little bit extra today.
“If you look at the goals, I thought there were some great finishes.” he continued. “I thought that our build up play was fantastic but I thought that it was our work-rate and discipline behind the ball, the way that we shaped up that gave us the opportunity to go and win the game and that’s what we did.”
Speaking about the short time period to get organised he said “I didn’t know I was going to come in until fairly late last night so I didn’t have a lot of time to put things in place but I spoke to a few people today. I spoke to Scotty Davies (Slough Town’s manager) who played you twice in the FA Cup and he said that he felt that there’s a good base here. The people I spoke to said that Welling’s in a false position. There’s better players here, people like (Jack) Paxman, Eze (Ebuzoeme), and I thought Femi (Akinwande) today was fantastic and I thought it brought a real lot of belief.”
He continued “We had a little scare at the end when we could have conceded one through our own silly mistakes but from the goalkeeper right the way through, I thought we were outstanding. We didn’t have a bench. Greg (Cundle) was on there. He’s got a knock. (Scott) Simmons was on there. He’s got a knock. We put TQ (Addy) on. Unfortunately he took a knock as well. It’s a bit of a depleted squad. The lad (Corey Adjetey-Brew) went back to QPR so when you come into today’s game, and probably the positive that I had with people saying on paper those players make a good team.
Although delighted with the result, Stringer acknowledged that there is a lot of work to be done. “There were some flat spots In the game.” he said. “I felt that at three-nil up we maybe came off what we were doing. There were quite a few times when we were trying to do things but hadn’t secured the play then all of a sudden, if that turnover breaks down, we’re open again.”
However, he was still happy with the shape overall, saying “Big Femi up front, he was dropping in. The midfield looked compact. Luke (O’Neill) put some great crosses in, he probably hasn’t played ninety minutes for a long time. He was brilliant last night, the way that he helped. We were talking at half past twelve at night, so he’s going to need an early night tonight, but he was fantastic.
“The back four in general, and I’ve got to say Aaron Bushell-Williams, I’ve had him before, was put in at left back where he’s not really (suited). He’s right sided but he never put a foot wrong. The little bits I tried to work on today, they picked up and they bought into. I think that was a big difference in us looking like a team and look secure.”
How long he is going to remain in the role is uncertain. He said “What am I going to do next? I love being back in the dug-out. It’s something I’m going to have to say I’ve missed because I’ve done it for so many years. The truth of the matter is I’ve said to the club let’s get today out of the way. I didn’t want to put any pressure on the players. I didn’t want to put any pressure on myself.
“This was a free hit in a way. It could have gone against us. We could have lost three-nil and you’d be saying ‘Right. Is that your last game?’ Looking on that performance there, I thought the boys were outstanding and I loved every minute of it. I don’t want this club to be in this position and I offered my services for this today because I’ve got so much time for Howard and Lisa and the family, the supporters at the club, and then the club in general.
“The supporters have been brilliant so for me, what happened last year happened last year, but if I could come in here today and just try and help the situation the club’s in through the manager being sacked and Paul Barnes deciding that it wasn’t for him, then it’s the least I could do.
“As soon as I knew that there was no manager, and that you didn’t have a physio for today, we managed to bring a physio in late at night or this morning, and also I said whether it’s one game, whether it’s ten games, or it’s until the end of the season, if I can help you tomorrow, then I’d love to do it. It’s been brilliant. It’s going to make my weekend.
“I’m so pleased that we’ve managed to get through.” he continued. “The FA Cup is not winnable, but the Trophy, as we’ve seen over the years with Hornchurch, and your Concords, and all these type of teams, can get to Wembley. It’s a bit more of a believable trophy so I’m over the moon with the result for Howard, and the club, and the supporters because that’s what I aimed to do when I got here.”