While John Taylor is the public face of the management team, Dale Brooks is the acknowledged expert on the training pitch. In previous seasons it was the young graduates of the youth team who were praising the methods of their softly-spoken coach, but in recent weeks the first team have been echoing those words and putting his coaching theories into practice in Division Two.
We caught up with Dale recently to ask how he has enjoyed the first month in his caretaker role as first team coach, after being asked to step up from his role as Youth Team manager, where he steered the under-19s to two successive area titles and groomed the likes of Luke Guttridge, Adam Tann, Daniel Chillingworth and Alex Revell.
"Obviously I have been enjoying the coaching, as I do at whatever level that I coach," he said. "The fundamentals don't really change that much. Basically I think at senior level you coach to the needs of the team because it is not maybe as much about individual development - although because they are still a young side they still have to work on their development.
"We have to strive to work in areas concerning our opposition and what we need as a team, but it's been enjoyable. We have had the win in the LDV which possibly could turn out to be quite a nice pay-day for the Club if we get to the finals, but obviously we need to get some points and that is what we are striving to do on a daily basis."
Dale knows that in Division Two points are the most important thing, especially with United rooted in the relegation zone, but he has been pleased with the progress made with the players on the training pitch: "I still won't backtrack on what I said when I was coaching with the Youth Team; winning is important because it breeds confidence and confidence develops a higher standard of performance. It is a results sector, and you need to work hard to get those points because it's points that dictate whether you are successful or not, but I think I think in a short time we have made some massive strides forward in the way we are approaching the games now and the way we are playing.
"It is not going to happen overnight and it is the same for all managers, they all ask for time and it would have been nice for John and myself to have had them from a pre-season, but that isn't the situation. The situation is now that we are in a position in the League that demands points and that is obviously what we are striving for on a daily basis."
"I think the confidence is very high amongst the players. When we took over they were lacking in confidence for whatever reason, whether that was them being weak mentally or whether that was an effect from an outside influence - who knows - but the confidence at the moment is very, very high and I think one or two good results could be the start of something positive.
"Obviously we know that we need to work very hard, we can't rely on luck although I think if you look at all successful teams they have their luck somewhere along the way, but we have just got to roll our sleeves up and as long as we are honest and genuine and no-one can knock us for our work ethic - the players and the staff - then you can't do any more than that."
Dale has been delighted with the reaction and the attitude of the first team squad from the moment he and John Taylor were appointed as caretakers: "I think it is sometimes easier to step up than it is to come in from outside," he said. "You know we are quite a small close-knit club and obviously I know the players and I have worked with some of them before under Roy and got involved with John with the reserves, so there is not a problem there.
"I think the players just want to play football and they want to learn and work on their game and if they are doing that and they believe in what they are doing then that is half the battle. You have to try and keep training interesting and the atmosphere and the confidence at the Club is sky high. John is very good at that, he has got a bubbly character but he is very, very strong and I must say that the transition from John as a player to a manager has been absolutely fantastic."
Giving an insight into their working relationship, and the way John Taylor has blossomed in the role as caretaker manager, Dale added, "I think that maybe people on the outside have wondered if he could make that transition from being in the dressing-room and maybe moaning at times about the manager saying 'we've got to do this, we've got to go running etc', to being the manager who has got to make those decisions, but I think he has taken to it like a duck to water.
"John is John, and obviously I am who I am with my own coaching philosophies, but I must admit I have been very fortunate to observe and work under some very good managers and he is showing a lot of potential to be a good manager. At first it wasn't reflecting on the field because we hadn't managed to get some points, but at the end of the day I think he is doing a good job.
"I don't want people to sit there and say 'Of course you would say that because if John gets the job...', but there is no pulling the wool over anyone's eyes. We will work very, very hard and we will know that there are certain areas of our development that we have got to work on, as everyone has, whatever their job, but I can assure anyone who might be thinking along those lines that there is only one Gaffer here and that is John.
"Obviously we are a team on the training ground and John has his input and we have a discussion before we go into training as to what we want to do and what we want to achieve because, you know if nothing else, from a coaching point of view you go out there to achieve something, to get something out of the session which hopefully then will transfer into performances individually and collectively."
Dale reserved some warm words of appreciation for the supporters who have backed the duo loudly and enthusiastically from the day they were appointed. "Obviously we are enjoying being in the position but we are very, very determined to try and get some points for the fans and the players. The fans have been absolutely tremendous, I am totally amazed at the reception and the response they have had to their team being in such a negative position, but I can assure them that the players are working very hard, so are the staff, and I know how much that they want us to get some points. I can assure you that the players want it as much as anyone else.
"The support is absolutely fantastic but the only negative from that - and this might sound interesting or unusual to people - is that it hurts even more when we don't achieve, because you know that they are with us and it is almost that they are as nervous as we are in anticipation of can we achieve. I think the response to the final whistle in the LDV game against Brighton epitomised really the whole feeling around the Club and the desire and the hunger to do well.
"The fans have been tremendous, I don't think we could ask any more from the supporters and obviously we will work as hard as we can. One thing in professional sport is that no-one should ever be able to knock your work ethic, if you are working and trying to do the right things and you are going in the right direction then what will be will be, and I think that is where the luck comes into it. Sometimes luck does go in your favour but you have to match that with effort and commitment and hunger and desire.
"We are a young squad, everyone knows that and no-one needs to be told that, but the one thing that gives you is a youthful enthusiasm which maybe cancels out any sort of fear factor."
Finally, Dale wanted to stress that although his footballing philosophy is well-known and has been successful with the youth teams, at the moment the main priority is to get some points in the battle for Division Two survival.
"Of course we want to play well but if I am totally honest - and people might think I am a football purist - I would have to say that just over this period I would sacrifice performance for a few points. We have to make sure that we are trying to go in the right direction but we need to get some points and obviously that is our main objective. We have to be really honest and we know it is an uphill battle, but we have an enthusiasm and a confidence in a team who are bottom of the league, which almost sounds surreal, but they want to do well and they are still confident and are working very hard. There is no backbiting, everyone is together and working very hard for the Club.
"When you look at the tables and you look back a few months, I can remember there was a time when I looked at Bury and I thought well that's it, Bury are going down, there was no way that they were going to survive. They are a Club who haven't been able to spend a fortune so something struck a chord there and, who knows, hopefully we can emulate what Bury has achieved over the last couple of months. The strange, the wonderful and the beautiful thing about this game is that it is so unpredictable, and every time a Saturday and a Tuesday comes round no-one can wholeheartedly predict what is going to happen from a minute past three onwards.
"We have seen that, we have had some situations where the first game in charge for John and myself, you wouldn't think that after ten minutes your goalkeeper has got sent off but that happens. Who knows, we might get a little bit of fortune like that and then it is down to us as a team collectively to turn that luck into points. Definitely, you come into a caretaker role and you think it has got a big temporary sign flapping above your head, but I think that everyone wants to progress and everyone wants to work at a higher level and this is an opportunity and I think we have got as much chance of turning it into a permanent one as much as anyone."
Footnote: On Sunday 6th January the directors announced that John Taylor and Dale Brooks had been appointed as Manager and Assistant Manager respectively.
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