The Glovers had just beaten Barnet 4-1 for their ninth victory in 13 games to move three points off the play-offs – this after it had taken them 11 matches to chalk up their first win.
Sarll delivered the good news through gritted teeth, he’s never been a fan of staying off the training ground, even when the late Glenn Roeder would tell him to.
“The amount of times on a Saturday after a game he would say, ‘Don’t come in Monday, Nicky Shorey and I will sort the group out, rest and be at your best for the next game’,” Sarll said.
“The amount of times I wouldn’t listen and still turn up on the Monday and be at the forefront of it all was ridiculous.
“The biggest part of our job is the match, everyone thinks it’s the process but it’s the match. Glenn was telling me this having experienced so many things. Really I should have listened.”
Sarll was manager of Stevenage for three years alongside Roeder – the former defender for the likes of Leyton Orient, Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle United and Watford – who worked at Boro in the role of managerial advisor.
“I remember the first day I met him,” Sarll said. “It was a Wednesday, we were playing Oxford United away on Good Friday, he walked into my office, I was working with a player who had come back from injury, and he said, ‘First of all, let’s get this out the way. I’ve managed West Ham, Newcastle and Norwich, I do not want to be the manager of Stevenage, I’m here to help, all I want to do is help you.
This story is from the March 07, 2021 edition of The Non-League Football Paper.
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This story is from the March 07, 2021 edition of The Non-League Football Paper.
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