Although it is still ten weeks before Rugby Town kick-off their pioneering season in the Evostik Northern Premier League, Valley’s assistant manager Craig Adams is already buzzing with excitement at his new challenge following his recent switch to Butlin Road from Bedford Town.
Adams, who is affectionately nicknamed 'Bully', left the manager’s job at the New Eyrie to team up with new Rugby boss Gary Mills, and he explained the reasons behind his decision: "I enjoyed my time at Bedford, but the opportunity to work for a forward-thinking manager at a forward-thinking club was too attractive to turn down.
“It’s a club with great facilities and potential, and whilst the previous management did a good job, our aim is to get it up to the next level and give the town something to be proud of."
On his appointment to the Town hot seat, Mills had moved quickly to secure the Eagles boss – who was also previously in charge of UCL side Wellingborough.
Mills said: “As soon as I was offered the job, I wanted Craig on-board, and I was delighted that I was able to secure someone with his experience and knowledge of this level.
“We haven’t worked together before, but we know each other well from being around non-league football, and I truly believe that we share the same footballing ideals and philosophies – so it should be a good fit.”
Adams’ echoed the thoughts of Mills – who is embarking on his first full managerial role at Rugby, after a long, successful playing career and a stint as assistant manager at Conference Premier Wrexham.
Adams continued: “Our thoughts on the game are very similar, and I’m sure we will be honest with each other and work together well.
“Some people may look at this as a downwards or sideways step for me, but I am not bothered by titles or positions. The important thing is it’s a new, exciting challenge and I can be involved in helping a club move forward.
“The key to success will be establishing a togetherness in the squad, and hopefully we can do this quickly once pre-season preparations start at the end of the month, and I can’t wait to get things going on this front.
“It’s slightly disappointing that it appears a few of last season’s squad have decided to move on without even speaking to the gaffer, but nevertheless we have retained a number of key players and securing the commitments of Seb Lake-Gaskin and David Kolodynski up-front is a real positive.
“We will be looking to add another striker to the squad though, so that there’s genuine competition for places, and we have already been busy adding a number of other new faces in the last week and will be bringing in more before training starts on the 30th of June." |