The 41 year old was the manager at Cambridge United from 2002 to 2004 and was appointed boss of Long Melford in the Ridgeons League Division One earlier this month.

How are things going at Long Melford?

We have had some mixed results but we have done ok. Long Melford need the walls knocking down and rebuilding in terms of how we are going to run things and how we are going to structure the football club.

How did the managerial position at Long Melford come about for you?

I played and did some coaching locally at Mildenhall Town at the back end of last season. I expected to be there this year as well.

Then three days before the start of the current campaign, I got a phone call saying that my services were not required anymore. But I got a bell from Long Melford asking me to play for them. That was all I wanted to do at the time - play football for another year.

The club then made a decision about their previous manager Richard Carter at the start of February and I was asked to take over and put a smile on people’s faces.

You have managed Cambridge United in the League in the past. Do you have to think differently as a Non-League manager?

Yes, especially the lower down you go. No disrespect to Long Melford, but they were in the Essex & Suffolk Border League until four years ago. Now they are in the Ridgeons Division One, which is a million miles away from the Football League.

Also, Melford are never going to be a massive football club as they are only a couple of miles away from Sudbury, who are one of the top sides in the region. So it is very difficult to get the players here to be ultra-professional.

The bottom line is that we need people who just want to play for Melford. There is no point in players coming in and thinking that they are going to earn shed loads of money, because it is simply not available at this club.

We are playing for next to nothing. We have a hard core of 80 supporters who come to home games and they know that we are not going to be a team that is winning leagues and getting promotion year after year. But what we can provide is a bit of effort, hard work and team spirit and that is what most fans want to see.

Do you enjoy the involvement?

Yes, I love it. Football is my life. In saying that, I would like to still be employed in the Football League. When you are in a job, the phone rings all day long. But when you are out of a job, it doesn’t seem to ring at all.

I have spent the best part of 25 years at a very decent level. I was unfortunate perhaps to lose my job at Cambridge United, but I have stayed involved at different teams. I will continue to do so wherever I can be of assistance to football clubs.

At the moment, it is at Long Melford and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

Stay with TheFA.com for exclusive interviews with Tamworth's new signing Paul Merson and Simon Clifford, owner of Garforth Town.
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