Hythe assistant manager Alex Flisher oversees back-to-back victories standing in for boss Steve Watt
Published: 05:00, 06 March 2024
Alex Flisher enjoyed back-to-back wins standing in for Hythe manager Steve Watt.
Assistant boss Flisher took charge of the 1-0 midweek victory over Littlehampton and was in the hot seat again on Saturday for a 2-1 comeback success at Herne Bay.
Flisher, new to management this season, teamed up with player-coach Frannie Collin as the Cannons continued their push for an Isthmian South East play-off place.
Watt missed the two games due to family reasons but his management team did him proud.
He was due to return against Cray Valley last night but the match was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Reachfields.
Flisher had a taste of going solo in the dugout while Watt served a three-match touchline ban last month.
But where Watt was in the stands and in constant contact back then, this was a different experience.
“When he’s not there you have to make decisions for yourself,” said Flisher.
“I was communicating with Frannie, who was playing, and between us we made decisions as to how to manage the game.
“Tuesday, being the first one, was a bit off-the-cuff.
“A couple of decisions, looking back, we would have made subs maybe a bit earlier or changed shape a bit differently but Saturday we had a better idea of what to do.”
Johan Caney-Bryan scored the only goal against Littlehampton while Josh Wisson and Aaron Barnes struck at Herne Bay as Hythe recovered from Kane Rowland’s early opener.
Bay finished with nine men, with Rowland and Liam Friend sent off late on for second bookings.
Flisher became assistant at Hythe last summer and it’s been an education working under Watt, his old Maidstone captain.
“You can learn from him in all senses,” said Flisher.
“Be it formation, shape, positional play, set-pieces, anything to do with the game.
“I’ve learnt so much from him in six months.
“Even in training, I stand there and I’m like, how do you come up with this stuff constantly?
“I guess when you’ve played at the level of football he has (starting his career under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea) you learn from the experience.
“I don’t think he gets the respect he deserves, not even as a manager, but for the coach he is.
“He can coach every position, where to be, when to press, when to make runs.
“He doesn’t get the respect he deserves for his football brain and knowledge partly because, like he says, we’re not amazing on the eye.
“We don’t pass it out from the back or make 600 passes before we score a goal. We are direct but we’re effective at being direct and winning matches is what matters.
“There are methods behind everything we do.
“It’s a calculated set-up and teams just can’t defend it.”
Hythe host Horndean on Saturday (3pm) and Beckenham on Tuesday (7.45pm).
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Craig Tucker