Shropshire Star

Telford boss Rob Edwards seeks advice from the top

Telford manager Rob Edwards sought the wisdom of some of English football’s most experienced managers to turn his team’s form around.

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Rob Edwards

The Bucks boss spoke to former Wolves boss Kenny Jackett and others who he declined to name in the run-up to Tuesday night’s 2-0 win over Tamworth.

That victory ended Telford’s five game winless streak and put them firmly back in the hunt for a play-off spot.

And Edwards hopes it instills confidence in his side, because that was the overriding theme from his chats with those elite bosses.

“I’ve been speaking to a few very experienced managers in the game, people with seven, eight hundred, a thousand games under their belt,” he revealed. “One of them is Kenny Jackett who I’ve worked with before and he’s been fantastic but there’s a few others who I will keep quiet at the moment but they’re well respected in the game.

“It’s good to have a chat with people who have had that longevity and know what they’re talking about.

“That word confidence came up quite a lot. What is it? You can’t grab it, touch it, you can’t put your finger on it but it’s really important, and that’s at any level.

“Man City are so good at the moment because they’re great players but also because they’re confident, you can see it the way they’re playing.

“Sometimes it’s hard, results affect confidence. When you’re going through a sticky run of results you’ve got to fight it, and make it happen.

“Sheer will made it happy on Tuesday and hopefully that win breeds confidence.”

One thing that gave Telford a boost against Tamworth was John Marsden’s return from an ankle injury, and the No.10 made a telling impact with a 30-yard wonderstrike.

“It’s really important we’ve got him back,” said Edwards. “He’s a very talented player but he’s also a leader as well, he’s quite experienced.

“One or two of our more experienced ones have been missing through injury and suspension over the last few weeks, so it’s been great to have him back and he showed what he can do there.

“We’re a young team by design, that’s what we want. But you’ve got have a sprinkling of senior ones in there. It hasn’t got to be age, but number of games.

“Mars has had a number of games and knows what’s required so it was important to have him back.”

And Edwards was wowed by the finish, which he reckons could be one of the best of the campaign.

“We’ve had a couple of good goals this season,” he said. “Anthony Dwyer hit one at the other end, but that’s another contender for goal of the season, we’re building up a collection now.”