Coasters boss out to hit top gear
AFC Fylde boss Jim Bentley is fighting fit following last year's heart scare – and so are his players after a gruelling week at Chester Army Barracks.
“Our chief executive is ex-military and was based here,” explains Bentley. “He knows the main man, and between them they arranged for us to come in.
“They've been brilliant, and basically tasked a bit of their team with looking after us. They say ‘Report at this time', ‘Eat at this time', everything precise and to the minute.
“Our lads have been on the assault course, had a go on the rifles, they've had a few little tours and a night out. They've been beasted by the Physical Trainers.
“There's also been activities focusing on social interaction, psychological stuff where you have to dig in, get round each other and problem solve. It's been quality.”
Unlike the whole of 2020, which Bentley – who took charge of Fylde in October 2019 – describes as a waking nightmare.
Just four months into his reign, the 45-year-old was diagnosed with a heart condition that required double bypass surgery.
Almost immediately, however, the Covid-19 pandemic erupted. All but essential surgery was cancelled and it would be December before Bentley finally went under the knife.
In the interim, Fylde – who just 12 months earlier had come within 90 minutes of promotion to the EFL – were relegated to National North using the controversial points-per-game metric.
“The whole year was basically a complete write-off,” says Bentley. “My own situation was bad enough, but the way we went down was a real hammer blow.
Perspective
“We had a couple of games in hand. We still had to play everyone around us. We'd just taken seven points from nine and made a couple of decent signings. We were all confident we'd have gotten out of it.
“When we went down, a lot of players left. A lot of staff left. We had to rebuild. But we looked better as time went on and, come the last game against York, we won 3-1 to go top of the league on points per game.
“Then the season got boshed again and they decided nobody would go up. In that sense, we've probably felt Covid more than anyone.
“It's disappointing, but you have to keep things in perspective. I've got my health. I've got my happiness. Seeing my wife and kids when I was going through all that – you can't help but have a different slant.
“And there's a lot to be positive about. Hopefully we're coming out of Covid. We've kept the nucleus of the squad, and added a bit more quality. Things are looking good.”
Quality like 38-year-old Stephen Dobbie, the former Backpool and Swansea City striker who has just left Queen of the South after scoring a remarkable 111 goals in 178 matches for the Scottish Championship side.
Clever
“He lives in Lytham, right on the doorstep,” says Bentley. “He's been there since he played for Blackpool. His numbers in Scotland were really good, something like a goal every other game over the last five years.
“He'll be registered as a player but he'll also coach one of our academy teams. Take them on a Sunday morning, coach them through the week.
“He's a clever player, knows where the goal is. The only problem is he's pulled his calf so we haven't actually seen him yet! But he'll be ready for the start of the season.
A season that Bentley hopes will end with a return to the top flight.
“We respect the level,” he says. “But we're a full-time club, a decent side. We were top on points-per-game last year. So the mentality is that we want to go up.”
