Barracks to Bucks- Cowan Aims to Rally Troops Towards Play-Off Push

Until the Bucks boss was five he lived in Hanover before his family transferred to Colchester.

Eye-opening but enjoyable, there’s plenty of his childhood he uses in his adult life.

He’s not only organised and exact, but heading into his third season in charge at the Vanarama National League North club he knows it’s all about bonding - and that includes the players and the community.

But regimented? There’s got to be a balance when it comes to winning points.

“I was a forces’ kid, my father was in the Army - my brother also served for 25 years, he’s been to all the wars,” he said in the latest of our summer features. “We often compare medals - his are slightly more important than my football ones, mind you!

“My parents were out in Germany and I was born there, I stayed until I was about five or six.

“Then we moved to the barracks in Colchester and I grew up in Essex. It gives you a great perspective on life.

“Hard work and desire is first and foremost, but that’s probably the same for all managers. An element of it all comes through. My father played for the British Army, and it was one of my first football memories watching him in front of 3,500 people.

“I suppose part of that is in my adult life. I am quite a structured person, I like things done in a certain way.

“It was a phenomenal part of my life being an Army child. But as you get older you get your own mind - it’s not about one thing and one thing only.”

Working together is a given when lives are at risk and you are defending your country.

That bond is clear in Shropshire too and best demonstrated when young fan Charlie Preece, 11, raised hundreds running five miles from his home in Wrockwardine to the New Bucks Head stadium and then back during lockdown.

It all went to boost Cowan’s budget - and the gesture made a tough summer that much more bearable.

“There is no money man behind the scenes here, we’re a fan-based club and funds are hard to come by,” he told the National League’s Oli Osborn in a Zoom chat.

“I’ve been very vocal that one of my passions is community so when you get young fans like Charlie who are willing to go above and beyond it really shows what we can do together.

“The players have to be accountable, as do the board and the staff but the fans also have to play their part.

“It’s togetherness. It’s hard, they are emotional, but fans make clubs - especially at our club.

“It has been two years now trying to change the mentality. We aim to be the biggest semi-professional club in the country, but we haven’t got a benefactor to take us there.

“When I was playing for Telford we had success, and we had a massive fan base. The community coming out like that would help, because this club deserves some huge success.”

But season three under Telford’s former imposing defender needs to see progression.

After a play-off push in year one, his second go fell short of the standards he sets.

The manager is happy with the business done, defenders Lee Vaughan and Courtney Meppen-Walter, midfielder Jack Byrne and striker Jason Oswell are all here to push the club on.

But they haven’t come for a quick pay day.

“Going into my third season we felt we needed to freshen things up a bit,” added Cowan, 39, who also pulled on his boots for clubs including Braintree, Grays, Fleetwood and Solihull Moors.

“Last season we were very loyal to the players we had and after an unexpectedly positive first season we struggled with energy last year.

“We couldn’t fathom really why things were going as they were. Maybe this year we have recruited a bit more quality.

“At a club like AFC Telford it’s difficult. We have a phenomenal ground and a brilliant history but resources aren’t fantastic. We can’t bradish big wages, so it’s a credit to the new players that they want to move forward with us. We’re very fortunate to have acquired them.

“The expectation is high, but we have to revel in that pressure. It’s trying to live up to that expectation.

“I’m asked about the ambition quite a lot. At a club like ours, we have to look to push for the top seven places. We always have to start a season with belief and expectation - but you’ve always got to be looking to hit that number one spot.

“If you’re not, you really shouldn’t be in the game. We have to have our own reality, but you also have to have the belief that you’re going to be hitting that top end. It’s not hoping, it’s believing.

“It’s such a difficult league to get out of, you need a plan A, B and C and you need to be adaptable.

“The outcome is what I am focused on. There will be ups and down on the journey but we hope this season will be the one where we can see the outcome.”

A coach under Rob Edwards when he stepped up, Cowan revealed he didn’t think he would get the job two summers ago.

“I only really wanted to take the interview for a bit of experience but in their words I blew them away, which is massively flattering,” he adds.

“I was local and thought maybe I could help the club out a bit, but I was passionate.

“We have probably over-achieved in truth in terms of resources these first two years, but I don’t want to be in it to finish mid-table every season.

“Going up against some of the clubs in this league last year, financially there was no comparison.

“I have a beautiful wife and four amazing kids. I could be at home spending time with them but I want to be a winner. Of course we have to have a reality, but you also have to dream big.”

PICTURES: SHROPSHIRE STAR & JAMES BAYLIS