(Picture: Action Images via Reuters)
By Matt Bishop
National League strugglers Solihull Moors have announced the appointment of Mark Yates as the club’s manager, and Tim Flowers as his assistant.
The pair replace former boss Richard Money, who left Moors after just 26 days in charge at Damson Park, and take over with the club rooted to the bottom of Non-League‘s top-tier, six points off safety.
Moors have won just three times all term, and just once in their last five games, during a season which has been severely disrupted by Money’s departure, and before that, Liam McDonald leaving by mutual consent.
Simon Hawker, Moors Director, is now looking forward to some stability at the helm, and told the club’s website: “Together they [Yates and Flowers] provide the depth of experience and enthusiasm necessary to give Solihull Moors the best chance of climbing the league.”
Yates has a wealth of managerial experience, having led Kidderminster Harriers away from the conference drop-zone in 2006 – his first season as a manager – before leading them to the FA Trophy the following season.
In 2009, he began a three-year spell at Cheltenham, which saw the Robins reach consecutive play-off finals, and was most recently in League Two with Crawley Town.
Like Yates, Flowers has huge footballing experience, with spells as Goalkeeper Coach at Man City and Leicester City accompanied by time as Assistant Manager at Coventry, QPR and Hull – and a spell as boss at Stafford Rangers.
The pair are raring to get going at Solihull, with Yates telling the club’s website: “This is an exciting appointment and it is great to be back doing what I do best!
“Both Tim and I know that we need points to turn the season around, starting at Maidstone, which is going to be tough.”
Flowers added: “19 games into the season and our position is tough. Nevertheless, we both have experience dealing with situations just like this and we need to instil confidence in the players.
“I have watched several of the matches and most have been “nip and tuck”. The games have been tight, but it requires a monumental effort to change things around.”
