Robbie Savage: Diary of a Manager: Signing a striker and why I’m on my phone mid-game…

In association with Planet Sport Bet, Robbie Savage is taking us behind the scenes each week at Macclesfield FC.

Robbie has played one of the leading roles in the rebirth of a now-thriving football club, first as director of football, now as first-team manager as the Silkmen seek to climb their way from the ninth tier back to the Football League. 

This week, Robbie reflects on a point as good as three while revealing how he resolved his striker search…

We took only a point last Saturday but it felt every bit as good as the three we earned the previous week.

Hebburn Town held us to a 1-1 draw, one I was happy to take when we 1-0 down with 86 minutes on the clock. We levelled late on, which always enhances the satisfaction, but prior to that, we had to show an abundance of fight and desire against a very good side.

It was yet more proof, for the few who still need it, of the spirit and drive in my squad. Here for the money? I played with some players on 50, 60, 70 grand a week who possessed not an ounce of the character these lads have got. We have great technical quality, but if we achieve our promotion aim this season, that will be the biggest factor.

In the north east, we went behind on the stroke of half-time – a nice finish from outside the box – which set up a tough second half, on a pitch getting heavier by the minute, against a well-drilled Hebburn side in a low block.

Having started in a 3-5-2 formation, at the break I took off my captain, Lewis Fensome, and moved to a 4-2-3-1. But midway through the second half, I felt another change was necessary. Hebburn were leaving one up top, and their wide players were dropping in to screen their full-backs. So I took a calculated risk.

I put on Sam Heathcote – but not in his usual position. Sam is a big lad, 6’5″ and a centre-back by trade, but I felt his physical presence was needed more around their box than ours.

If we were destined to lose, then the margin mattered little because of our strong goal difference. But at least we could say we tried everything to get something out of the game. In this instance, it was a formation of 3-2-5. And two of those defenders were pushing on!

It paid off, eventually, on 86 minutes. D’Mani Mellor, showing great composure, threaded a pass into Heathcote, who took one touch and applied a striker’s finish.

At 1-1, the temptation was to go for the win. But it wasn’t necessary to gamble any more. I knew Guiseley, our closest challengers, were losing at home. So our goalscorer was shifted straight back in to his natural position at the heart of the defence and, at the very least, we take a point back to Macc.

How did I know Guiseley were losing? The same way everyone else gets their score updates…

If you see me around the bench with my phone in my hand, I’m not just checking the scores. I use the timer to keep track of stoppages and to know more precisely how long there is to go. As you can imagine, if our opponents have a point or three to cling to, game-management becomes a theme and I always want to know what the clock looks like.

Sure, at the appropriate time, I’ll cast an eye over how our rivals are getting on. In our position, why wouldn’t I want that information? I want as much context as possible when making a decision, even during the game. And, yes, I might also check the Reading score. Like any father, I want to know how my son, Charlie, is getting on. It would be weird if I didn’t.

Big Sam did a fantastic job for us, getting us the point, but the fact it was necessary to use him up front reinforced my belief that we need another attacking option.

I wrote last week of the difficulty I was having getting a forward through the door, and the knock-on effect it had for one of my players. We have worked hard since then to resolve the situation to everyone’s satisfaction, which we have achieved this week.

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We have signed Diego De Girolamo on loan from Buxton. Diego scored 120 goals in 229 games for the Bucks and all the research and checks I’ve done lead me to believe he will be a valuable addition for the final 12 games of the season. His versatility, along with that of my other forwards, gives me plenty of options for how to shape my attack for the run-in, and some fresh impetus for Danny Elliott and D’Mani, who have got us 27 and 15 goals respectively already.

Diego’s arrival has been facilitated by Alex Curran’s departure. It has been genuinely emotional saying goodbye to Alex – in my opinion, one of the best and most important players in the brief history of Macclesfield FC.

So why have I let him go? For the good of the club and the player.

Alex deserves to play more than he has this season. He missed pre-season due to injury which gave others the opportunity to stake their claim for a first XI place. At 26, he has still made 34 appearances this season – only half a dozen players have managed more – but Curzon Ashton, in the National League North, made an offer that allowed us to broaden our attacking options while giving Alex the chance to go back to his old club and play more minutes. Hopefully, we’ll meet again next season, though Curzon themselves are well-placed for promotion.

Frankly, I think Curzon have got themselves a very good deal, but the undisclosed amount they have paid takes us to approaching a quarter of a million in transfer fees received since the rebirth of the club four years ago. That’s a big number at this level. It serves as evidence that we can unearth talent and increase the value of players when they come here.

Diego will be in the squad this Saturday when second-from-bottom Mickleover come to the Leasing.com Stadium.

Back in November, Mickleover inflicted on us our first defeat of the season so we owe them. The players remember that night and the hosts’ celebrations that followed – I would savour beating what was the only unbeaten side left in the country in exactly the same way – so my team-talk should be simple before the lads run out once more in front of a 3,000-plus crowd.

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