New Buck Cowan Won't Have To Take A Dip In Cold Water!

Edwards led the club to a credible mid-table finish after years of relegation battles – but chose to leave the club at the end of last season.

Cowan was the man chosen to lead the club for the upcoming season and said his relationship with the departing manager has eased his switch into the hot seat.

“I’m quite lucky in a sense,” he told the National League’s Oliver Osborn. “Rob was a class act last year – he kept me involved so the transition hasn’t been as cold water in the face, if you like.

“It’s a testament to Rob that when we’re successful this season, it will go down to a lot of the work that was done last season. The club have kept a bit of continuity and we want to capitalise on that.”

Working as coach for the last two seasons, Cowan says he can draw on the downfalls of last season for motivation – but also wants to take positives into the new campaign.

He said: “Last season was a bit of a struggle for many reasons – I’ve been through it with Rob and I’ve been able to witness the things going.

“There’s a lot of external factors as to why the team on the pitch are doing well or not doing so well. But we want to make sure it’s about what’s going on on the pitch, that’s what I can control.

“I’ve got the benefits from last season’s downfalls and some of the positives – hence the reasons we are where we are. I’m excited about the new season,” he added.

Cowan played for the Bucks between 2008 and 2010 and named another former Telford player – Phil Trainer – as his assistant.

It’s all part of creating a community feel around the New Bucks Head for Cowan who says involving the fans is vital if the club want to progress.

“I live in the community, a minute from the ground,” he said. “My boys support the football club, so I see the effect it has on people in and around the area when you win games and you’re successful.

“I know what sport and football can do for the local community is massive so I’m extremely passionate about it – that’s the reason we’ve done a cricket day with the supporters and a community day at Aston Villa. There’s even more to come and I really believe for a football club to be successful, the supporters have to be involved.

“I want to do really well – not just for myself but for people in and around it. I hope we can take the club back to where it was when I was a player really.”

There’s just less than two weeks until Cowan’s first competitive game as a manager – but says he’s no nearer to knowing his starting eleven for their opener against Southport on August 4.

“There’s two weeks left but 24 hours is a long time in football so I’m not close to knowing my first team. There’ll be a lot of lads who didn’t play today who will get an opportunity on Wednesday night and I’m excited about that.

“I’m not overly close to knowing who will play and who won’t – there’s two weeks to go and the lads have got to impress and make sure they get in the team.”

The ex-defender was speaking after his side’s 3-1 win against Wrexham on Saturday – and said although the win was pleasing, he wouldn’t be getting too carried away with the result.

“Today was just another part of the process of getting ready for August 4 – I won’t be getting too excited. There’s a lot of positives there, it was good performance from the lads in large spells.

“But there’s elements we need to improve on because that’s the expectation we’ve got of ourselves as players and staff. I can’t overly praise them because they’re doing the job that’s expected of them.”