MARK Molesley has outlined his burning desire to take on one of non-League football’s biggest re-building jobs, as he begins to put his stamp on things at the Bob Lucas Stadium.
It would have have been easy for Molesley to retire as a player and remain in football, while working in his full-time coaching role with the youth set-up at AFC Bournemouth.
But the 36-year-old, who was announced as the Weymouth manager on the final day of this season, admitted: “Sometimes I would rather make the decisions and take the fall if I had to. Rather than stand back.”
In an exclusive interview with Echosport, the new Terras’ boss claimed there would be no substitute for hard work and effort, in a bid to improve things at the Bob Lucas Stadium.
Asked why he decided to make the step into non-League management, Molesley said: “When you are around so many good people when you are coaching, and learning so much, you think ‘well, I have got to put this into practice’.
“Life would be easier (without management) and I don’t need the stress and all the other bits, but I am not one of those people to stand in the background. I want to stand up and give it a good go.
“I know that myself and my staff will be working hard every day and, when we leave this football club, we want to be leaving it in a better place than it is now.
“That’s the mantra that I am going to be trying to live to and be working towards.”
The new Weymouth manager, who is also set to continue in the coaching set-up with the Cherries, insists there will be no quick-fix to get things back on track with the Terras.
“We are not just trying to build a team here. We are trying to build a football club,” he added. “We are trying to bring the community back together.
“To do that, first and foremost, we have to serve up something good on the pitch, and I think everything else can then fall into line.
“It’s going to take time and it’s going to take patience and there are lots of challenges ahead but we want to make sure what we build here is on solid foundations.”
Quizzed on his memories of Weymouth before he joined the club, Molesley said: “What was always the big attraction when I used to come and play against Weymouth was that you always used to play against 1,500 to 2,000 fans, and the place was rocking.
“That’s what lured me back to be a player there and what certainly what lured me to stay with the football club now.
“I have fond memories of coming to Weymouth as a kid. I went to a Weymouth tournament and remember thinking ‘wow, that’s a proper football club there’. That’s what attracted me back.”
And although Molesley is fully aware of the potential the club can offer, he insists the entire set-up have no given right to capture success at Southern League level.
“We have all got a point to prove,” he claimed. “I think that’s what is driving me and what is going to drive the players.
“We have a lot of doubters and we have got to work hard to prove them wrong. We have got to earn everything again. There is no god given right for us at all.
“It’s no good saying ‘we are this and we are that,’ we are not. We haven’t done anything, we haven’t achieved anything. We have everything to prove and everything to work for.
“We are the underdogs now. We are not the big dog and, everything we want, we have to go and earn.
“There is no point just coming here and going through the motions because there are massive challenges at this club. You only want people who are built and ready for the challenge.
“We haven’t performed and we are not the big heavyweight that we thought we were. We have got to go back and earn our right again.”
He added: “I have had a lot of managers and have learnt a lot off every single one of them. I am looking to put that into practice now.
“The proof is going to be in the pudding and we will be doing our very best.”
