New Needham Market manager Tom Rothery explains decision to stay Bloomfields following Kevin Horlock resigning in wake of lower-league club’s approach
Needham Market’s newly-appointed manager Tom Rothery has described how he went with his heart in not following Kevin Horlock out the door at Bloomfields - after another club came in with a lucrative offer.
The opportunity presented from the lower-league club - set to be revealed later today - ending up being too good for former Northern Ireland Under-21s boss Horlock to turn down.
It saw the former Ipswich Town, Manchester City and West Ham United player end his record-breaking spell in charge of the Marketmen after leading them to a key 2-1 home win in Vanarama National League North against Warrington Town on Saturday. The players were only made aware after the game, which Rothery admitted had led to ‘emotional scenes’.
Since taking over from Richard Wilkins five years ago this month, their former academy manager led them to four straight Suffolk Premier Cup triumphs, broke new ground with an appearance in the FA Cup First Round Proper and the quarter-finals of the FA Trophy, as well as his crowning glory, winning the Southern League Premier Central last season to ensure the club got a first taste of Step 2 football.
It left the mid Suffolk club, currently sitting bottom of the National League North table but just a point from safety with a game in hand on three of the four sides above them, turning to his assistant to take charge.
And Rothery felt it was the right thing to do to answer that call and look to complete the job Horlock and himself had started, to keep them as Suffolk’s highest-placed non-league club.
“Me and Kev had a discussion and there was potential for me to leave as well, but it just didn't feel right, to be honest,” he said.
“And Graham (Emmerson, director) spoke to me and offered me the position and I just feel it's the right thing to do. I didn't want to leave at this stage of the season and want to try and maintain our status, that’s as simple as it is really.
“Obviously Kev's decision is slightly different but it's not for me to tell his story, really.”
Rothery is no stranger to leading a team outright, having left Needham previously, having come in under Mark Morsley’s management, to take charge of Brightlingsea Regent who he successfully kept afloat at Step 3 for two seasons. It came after he had helped, as assistant to James Wesbter, the R’s go from Step 6 to Step 4, having also tasted promotion toghether with Rowhedge in the Essex & Suffolk Border League.
But the former postman said he was not looking to ‘scratch an itch’ by going back into that leading dugout role.
“I wasn't sitting there thinking I've got to be a manager again. I've done it and I was happy being Kev’s assistant,” said the 49-year-old who had returned to Needham to be Richard Wilkins’ assisant ahead of then academy manager Horlock taking over in February 2020.
“Look, I would love to carry on working with Kev, but I just didn't want to leave the club.
“It felt like I'd be leaving the club and the players in a tough position.
“From my perspective, the work that goes into getting promoted last year as champions, I just don't want to give that up and walk away from that.
“If we'd have been in mid-table, maybe the decision would have been different, I don't know, it's all ifs, buts and maybes, but we’re bottom of the league and it just doesn’t feel right to leave. It just wouldn't feel right morally for me personally, and that my decision wasn’t based purely on that.
“I've said there isn't that itch to scratch but it does give me an opportunity to manage at this level for three months and try and be successful, and success would be staying up.
“At the moment obviously we're bottom, so in some ways I can't go any lower, so there's nothing to lose really from that point of view.”
Rothery, who has appointed long-serving coach Nathan Munson as his assistant and former player Patrick Brothers as first-team coach, will have his first game in sole charge tomorrow at Brackley Town (7.45pm).