Jamie Day wants to be Welling manager again
Published: 00:00, 15 November 2016
Updated: 07:56, 15 November 2016
Jamie Day has made no secret of his desire to manage Welling again.
Day rejoined the club last month as first team coach under Wings owner and manager Mark Goldberg.
But the 37-year-old, who spent over five years in charge at Park View Road before quitting to join Ebbsfleet in 2014, is keen to be in control again.
“It’s a good club that I’ve had good times at – obviously that is in the past but it’s got all the attributes that I like as a manager,” said Day.
“It has a family feel and is supported really well by a group of fans. It’s a club I am happy with and like being at. It wasn’t a difficult choice (to come back) and now it’s up to the management staff to get us up the table.”
Whether a change in his role is going to happen sooner rather than later, Day said: “That’s down to Mark. I’ve done assistant and I’ve done being a manager – and I prefer being a manager.
“Mark has been excellent, he lets me take the training and do the team talks. Obviously I’d probably want to be more involved in transfers and stuff going further down the line.
“Mark is someone I’d like to work with. For me going forward, I’d like it to be as manager but I am happy with the role at present and it’s about the team moving up the table first and we can assess that as we go along.
“There’s still lots of things we need to get right and coming in you see some of the things that need to be sorted out, and that’s just being honest.
“There are good players here and as long as they play as Welling supporters and the club expect Welling players to then I think we’ll be fine. Obviously at the minute it’s down to Mark to decide who stays and who goes and what we need to do.”
Day joined Ebbsfleet in December 2014 but was sacked in April 2015 after they failed to reach the play-offs.
After a season as Adrian Pennock’s assistant at Forest Green – when they finished second in the National League – Day took charge at Braintree in the close season. But that spell lasted weeks instead of months and Day has returned to where it all began in a bid to rediscover his managerial magic.
“I’ve had a lot more experiences,” said Day. “When I left it had only been all good experiences and then I’ve been to Ebbsfleet and Braintree. I’ve got reasons why I don’t think it worked out and that’s for me to keep.
“Forest Green was a great experience and one that I enjoyed and I thought Ady was harshly dealt with. You use all those experiences and put them together. I think hopefully I’ve become a better manager but I’ve got to prove it now. Braintree didn’t work out so I need to get right here.
“As a manager you are going to get sacked at some stage. Nobody likes getting sacked, I didn’t want to be sacked and it’s just unfortunate. But football is a harsh business.
“When I look at Ady, he finished second in the league and still got sacked so it doesn’t matter if you are doing well sometimes. It’s how you bounce back, keep your philosophy and believe in what you are as a coach and a manager. I’ve got to start again and there’s no better club to be at and prove people wrong.”
In part two of our interview with Jamie Day - available on www.kentonline.co.uk on Wednesday - he talks about the emotions of facing his former club Ebbsfleet last Saturday.
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