Mat Sadler: Too soon for Shrewsbury Town coaching role
Captain Mat Sadler sees a role for himself after hanging up his boots at Shrewsbury Town – but insists the current vacancy comes too soon.
Fans have suggested Sadler, who is studying his coaching badges and sees himself in football post-retirement, could be a candidate in a management team to succeed John Askey.
But the defender, who turns 34 in February, still hopes he has plenty left in his legs before considering such a role.
The former Birmingham defender is Town’s joint-longest serving player having made 194 appearances in all competitions across two spells.
“Hopefully in the future, I’d love to be at the football club in years to come,” replied Sadler when asked if he’d fancy a crack in charge.
“I’m very much enjoying playing at the moment and don’t possibly see, in this day and age, there’s too much time for player-coaches or player-managers. I don’t know if those days have gone a little bit.
“But I’d like to think that, in the future, there’d be some capacity for myself and I’ll be ambitious for that when the time comes, but not at the moment.”
Some Shrewsbury supporters felt that Sadler could be a stellar option assisting goalkeeper coach Danny Coyne in temporary charge of Town.
Birmingham-based Sadler hopes that he will be in a position to move on to the coaching staff when he does finish his playing career. But, despite twice being dropped by former boss Askey, the skipper has made 16 appearances this term and is a crucial part of Town’s backline.
When asked about the support from fans, he said: “It’s probably all my family banging that drum! It’s really nice. I don’t need to say how much I enjoy playing for this club. I very much feel part of the fabric here and love playing for the club.
“Naturally, whenever the time comes, and hopefully it isn’t too soon, then I’ll be looking at that side of things.
“I’d love the opportunity to look at that, but that’s for another day.”
Academy boss Eric Ramsay has ably assisted Coyne since Askey’s sacking eight days ago. The pair have guided Salop to two wins from two ahead of tomorrow’s FA Cup first-round replay at Salford City.
Former Town boss Paul Hurst is now the bookies’ favourite to become the new Notts County manager.
