Alan Dowson sat down with the club's media team on Monday December 8th to discuss his return to the Bev, his goals for the season, his style of play, and much more. The full interview is available on Beavers TV here.
Below are some of the highlights from Dowse's conversation with Seb White.
On Returning:
"[I'm] delighted to be back...[I] want to do the best I can do for the football club, but disappointed in how I'm here because I had a lot of time for Jules... but to be at a club I have a massive affinity for and to get it back going again and get out the mess we're in is great. I'm delighted."
Dowson feels good about the role, even stating that he may "need the club more than it needs me at the moment" , stating his desire to get back in the dugout and get to work.
"Some people may say he's finished but I'm 55, I think i'm in my prime! If you think about it, I've had all these promotions at Dover we finished with the clubs highest points tally in the clubs history...In 20 years I feel as though i've either kept a club up or won a promotion [many times] and I want to do the same here. [The club is] very close to my heart, I had an unbelievable time here."
Since Dowse's last tenure, some things are very familiar to the manager, but not everything, speaking about the new owners and their ambitions he said:
"I was very impressed with Scott, how he was and how he wants to see the club go and how he thinks the club can go there. We're not daft about budgets, we know theres 8 or 9 teams that are pro but its pointless me mentioning budgets because I knew that before I got the job. So if I didn't think I could do it I wouldn't be at the club. If I didn't think I could turn the screw the next couple of years and go higher I wouldn't have come back. If I get us relegated this season they should sack me, because I'm not here to get relegated I'm here to keep'em up."
"I'm not here to pick up a wage...I'm here to try and be successful. If I gotta stay here 24/7 a day and be the first one in the club and the last one to leave that's what I'll do."
Dowson also wanted to stress what he values most about clubs like ours,
"My biggest belief [is] if you haven't got the people, you haven't got a football club. So I want to engage with the people, I want to engage with yourselves, I want to engage with the people serving the burgers, I want to engage with the people in the [Jolly] Coopers for example, Chino's. The boys club section, the girls section. If you have got those [connections] then you don't have a club, you're just pretending."
"The people on the street are the ones who are going to help us along [in] this journey. I'm well aware that they shouldn't have to come to me, I should go to them, and I will do, go to this people and tell them 'don't go anywhere else, don't go to Brentford, come and support Hampton & Richmond."
He knows moreso than anyone that some fans may not be best pleased with his arrival following the nature of his departure last time after the play-off final defeat, but he is determined to work hard for everyone, including them.
"I am here to do well for the club just like I was last time. At the time I'd been there for four years. We were 6 points bottom of the Ryman Premier when I came in and we kept them up. Then we won a championship. Then we got into the [National League] playoffs, then we got to the playoff final. I probably thought, 'Crikey, where do you go from here?'... The heartbreak we experienced maybe made the decision [to go to Woking] a bit easier. I remember half-breaking down when I made it because it was very hard to leave. I thought it was the right challenge at the time. I thought it was a big club at the time. I can't do anything about that. There may be people saying 'oh your tails between your legs now coming back' , maybe! I need to prove myself again. I need to do the best I can again."
On the pitch, there is increasing discussion about a manager and a teams 'identity' , and when Dowson asked what his footballing identity was, his answer was simple:
"Win the ball, work hard to keep it. Enjoy yourself, the pressure is on me not the players. Work for the club, want to play for the club. Come with enthusiasm and drive every single training session. If we didn't want to do that, we wouldn't be here."
And finally, before Saturday, Dowson wanted to tell the fans:
"I'll make sure I'll give everything to them. The fans give everything to us, but i'll also make sure the players give everything to them. We got to work together, so please come down and support us."
Be sure to support Alan Dowson in his first match back at the helm at the Bev this Saturday December 13th as we welcome Maidenhead United. Secure your tickets HERE.
And if you would like to watch the full interview, you can find it here.