The new Hereford manager, Russell Slade, wants to get involved immediately on Saturday when the Bulls take on visiting Boston United at Edgar Street.
Slade says he could have taken an easy option, but instead wants to “get his hands dirty” from the very start of his tenure in the Hereford hot-seat.
He maintained, “Well, I could have decided to take a seat in the grandstand, but I’m electing to get in the dug-out straightaway.
“Tim [Harris] will pick the team, because I don’t know the group well enough yet, but I will be there kicking every ball I can assure you of that.
“I’ll be issuing instructions and I’ll be doing the team talk. I think it’s very important that I get in there and get working immediately”.
The 58-year-old boss has been in charge of various Football League and Conference clubs in over 850 matches during a long-standing career, but is now relishing the challenge he faces at Edgar Street.
“I’m really excited about the prospect of coming into this club. I feel the club has a real opportunity to progress and I’m looking forward to it.”
At many clubs in his career he describes his role as a fire-fighter, after being put into clubs to try and just settle everything down and move on from there. The stage where Hereford are now is somewhat different – with certainly a different target.
“When I went into some clubs, I found they were often struggling at the bottom of their leagues, so we had to try and make them into a force at the other end of the table. Elsewhere, I’ve had opportunities like at Leyton Orient, Yeovil and Grimsby where we managed to lift them into the play-offs, and even at Cardiff, to some extent, as when I went there, they were sixth from bottom of the Championship.
“It’s certainly a different challenge here, and that’s what has appealed to me. I have been offered one or two opportunities elsewhere, including a league club and from overseas, but this seems the right job for me at this time.
“Everyone here is ambitious and the board of directors want to move this club forward with a strategy behind that. This is an opportunity to move a football club to the next level. We have a very competitive budget and an excellent fan base, plus a stadium and training facilities to match. So, there are lot of things in place here already to help this club progress”.
Interview: Keith Hall.
Image: Hereford FC.
