EYEBROWS were raised when former Scotland striker Chris Iwelumo was appointed as assistant manager of Chester FC late last year, after the more defensive-minded Ian Sharps left for Walsall.
However, it's not the well-travelled forward's first association with the club, which was his 18th and last as a player.
Serendipitously, The NLP meets up with the imposing Iwelumo in the car park of Braintree Town FC, scene of his one and only goal for the Cheshire outfit.
That deft far-post header now stands as the last ever professional goal of a long and varied career, as he finally announced his retirement at the end of October 2014.
“I was going to retire that summer and Steve Burr convinced me to come in,” says Iwelumo of his time at the Deva. His short spell with the Blues must have resonated though, as he embraced the chance to once again work with Jon McCarthy, the former assistant-now-turned-manager following the departure of Burr.
“Obviously I know Jon very well,” says Iwelumo. “And it worked to get back in doing the coaching side of things and getting amongst it – that I was excited about.
“So when the opportunity came up it was one that I had to really think about and I'm delighted I'm here.”
Iwelumo's appointment undoubtedly represents something of a coup for the fan-owned club, although it does come with a caveat.
Already committed to media work with Sky and Channel 5 prior to accepting the job, he is not able to attend every match, an arrangement that has led to some low-level grumbling about priorities among Chester fans.
The suggestion is that his time would be better spent barking from the touchline than sitting on a soccer sofa on a Saturday night. It's not a line of questioning that Iwelumo is keen to pursue, offering only, “Well I'm here, I'm assistant manager aren't I?”
Jon McCarthy has been more verbose in the local press, however, confirming that it is a part-time position and that the situation will be reviewed in the summer. McCarthy also emphasised that his work on the training field has been invaluable.
Indeed, since Iwelumo's arrival, striker James Alabi has been nudging a goal a game, including a superb brace at Braintree.
“That's why I'm here,” confirms Iwelumo. “I think it's not only the strikers, the gaffer just wants another set of eyes and another voice that can give them information all over the pitch.
Miracles
“But whatever I can pass on to the strikers and whatever they deem useful, that's what it's about.”
Furthermore, it was hoped that Iwelumo's standing in the game could prove useful in terms of signing players.
“Again, another reason why the gaffer brought me in.” he confirms. “It's all about contacts, networking, what players you can get.
“But the budget at this club's very, very small so I think when you get players from higher up then you've got to pay a certain percentage of wages. This is all new to me, the whole budget. We've had a few budget meetings already and let's just say the gaffer's working miracles at the minute.”
As it transpired, there was minimal transfer activity at the Deva, with only Wigan winger Danny O'Brien returning for a second loan spell.
More importantly, there was no outward movement, with the club rejecting a ‘substantial' offer from Barnsley for the promising Sam Hughes, and a ‘derisory' bid from Barnet for James Alabi.
Despite the size of their squad, Chester have been punching above their weight this season, and a top-half finish would represent a huge improvement on last term's worrying flirt with relegation.
“There'll be blips,” admits Iwelumo. “But I think the quality that we've got, it might not be in depth, I think it's really down to the players getting a consistent run.
“One defeat in 18, it was. If they can go and do something like that again they'll be right in the mix.
“I think it's down to belief. People are standing up and taking notice now for the run that we've been on.
“So we're not being taken lightly, but we've got to still break teams down that are going to come here organised and make it difficult for us.
“And I feel that we have quality in the squad, but it's a results business and if you keep doing the right things, and you keep doing the right things well, then the performances will come.
“I know the numbers are short, but we do everything that we can do to make sure that the boys are ready and prepped.”
