Craig Short has joined Karl Robinson’s coaching staff at Bromley.
Short previously worked with Robinson during his six-year stint at Oxford United until he left the Us in August, in a spell which saw him act as caretaker manager on three separate occasions – of which the first was when Robinson left in February 2023.
The 58-year-old previously played as a defender and achieved two promotions with Notts County, albeit via the play-offs from Third Division into Second Division in 1990 then repeated that feat to enter the Old First Division in 1991, having joined the Magpies from his first club – Scarborough.
He subsequently went on to play for Derby, Everton, Blackburn, Sheffield United, and Ferencvaros where he briefly became manager during the 2009-10 season, then went on to become manager at Notts County between June – October 2010.
In his first interview with BFC TV, Short spoke of his pride at beginning a new chapter in his career after he was on the sidelines watching Bromley’s first round exit against Rotherham in the FA Cup last weekend.
“Very exciting. Came in just over a few days ago, just before the Rotherham game. A little bit of a trip down from the Midlands but well worth it. Enjoyed the game at the weekend despite the result. The welcome I have received has been wonderful, really has.
“Some really good people. I feel I’ve been here probably longer than a week now. And then the last couple of days, getting stuck into the coaching and just getting to know people really.
“I’ve been at one club for six years, so it’s starting again, new relationships, getting used to people’s names, so many people. I’ve met so far in the short space of time, but no I’ve really been felt very very welcome.”
Having previously worked with Robinson at Oxford Utd, Short sees the latter’s style as the same that he sees the sport but feels that he can occasionally overdo the attacking element.
“He wants to play the way that I see football. Sometimes he wants to be more attacking than I like, you know, because you want to be a little bit more defensive. But no, he’s someone that I’ve always had a good relationship with, even since he’s left Oxford and gone to other clubs.
“But no, I enjoy working with him. Yeah, it’s what it’s can be chaotic at times, but he just loves his football and he’s got a lot of knowledge. He’s got a lot of empathy for people. And he cares about the game, and I think it’s hopefully going to be a good fit.”
Short was on a sabbatical away from football after he left the Us in August but felt that now is the right time to get back into coaching as the winter drew in, and is keen to help Robinson build on Andy Woodman’s legacy in South-East London.
“I was having a break. I’ve played for 19 years and then I’ve been coaching really for sort of 19-20 years. So I’ve not really had a break. So when the break came along, it’s soon gone. You know, I’ve had four or five months, but I’ve, you know, I’ve done my holidays and done my trips with my family.
“And the winter days start drawing in, and he rang me out of the blue and said ‘Do you want to come work with me again?’ And I would have gone to work with him really anywhere, but I know how far you guys have come.
“And it’s sort of, I didn’t really know, no, I’ll be to be totally honest, I didn’t really know a great deal. But I came from a background of non-league football as a player. I came from Scarborough and worked my way up. And you know you’ve come so far so quickly, you know, and sometimes you’d probably have a reset and start again, really.
“And I said to some of the staff the other day, I said if you’re still in league two, it’s still a success for this club from where you’ve come from. You know, I know how competitive the conference is. So to be where you are and what the previous management have done has been incredible really.
“So we want to carry that on. Yeah, it’s going to be difficult because we’re at the bottom of the league. We know that. We understand we’re realists.
“I know the league pretty well. Karl knows it better than me. And I think hopefully between us and the squad we’ve got and people supporting us, we’ll start to climb out and get a bit of confidence back in the team.”
Short proceeded to explain the importance of confidence and is hopeful that he can help the players regain their confidence after a tough start to the season.
“That’s the main thing. I think when you’re an athlete, a professional athlete, a player whatever sport you’re doing, probably in whatever walk of life you’re in, if you lose a bit of confidence doing that job, it’s hard to get back.
“And that’s what hopefully, you know, I’ve suffered in my career loss of confidence at times.
“Hopefully I can instil that back in the players, give them some belief. One win sets you on that way.”
Short also addressed the awareness that positivity can often be high when a new manager comes in as he explained that his arrival in the international break will enable them to do more training to address vulnerabilities ahead of a tricky run of fixtures.
“I suppose it happens, you know. It’s a natural thing when there’s bit of uncertainty for players when a new management comes in because you think ‘oh no, I’ve been signed by a previous management. Do I get a chance?’ So the level always goes up a bit.
“I think the beauty for us is coming in when we have done there’s an international break, so you get longer with the players. I know we’ve had the game in midweek, but you get longer with the players to do more training. Like today, it’s been a real hard physical day because we’ve got the weekend off, so that’s really helped, you know, instead of going straight into games.
“I know we’ve got a difficult run of games coming up, but that’s what this league is, and that’s why you’ve been working so hard over the last few years to get to this level. I’m sure even though the results haven’t gone great, the fans have had a bit of a whirlwind for themselves over the last few years, you know, where the way you’ve gone, the progress you’ve made.
“So we want to continue that. And straight away, the first thing is, right, let start hanging in there, getting some wins and just creeping up that table, you know.”
Short will be working alongside Byron Webster and Alex Dyer and is excited to learn from them both, having watched Webster in action over many years and seen Dyer’s experience across various levels of the game as he spoke about the importance of continuous learning.
“The main thing for me is I’ve come in and met Byron, and I’ve obviously seen Byron play over the years. He’s been club captain, I know he’s bit of a legend here, been so welcoming.
“I can learn off them as well. You know Alex Dyer’s got a wealth of pedigree and a wealth of knowledge over the years. And obviously I know what Alex’s career has been. So you’re always learning you know.
“And I remember when I first started on this coaching journey years and years ago, Dick Baker at the head of the FA said this is a 10-year journey as a coach.
“I was thinking ‘I’ll just play for 20 years. I should know it. I know now I didn’t, I’m still learning. I’ve learned a lot off Karl. I’ve learned a lot of the managers I’ve worked for at Oxford and over the years.
“Other clubs so I hope a little bit of that helps, you know. But I’ll make mistakes, of course, I will. I’ll get names wrong, of course I will you know.
“But I just want to if I can just add a little bit more five per cent and improve the team.
“I think the game’s changed now where you you’re not so much there’s it’s gone very tactical with coaches over the last few years. Um for my day, it was all about man management. You know, a lot of the best managers I played for, I just didn’t dare let them want to let them down.
“So I think we’re sort of going back to that a little bit more, a bit more man management. And I think Karl’s got both. He can be a very good man manager. Yeah, he can fall out with people, but you never hold a grudge on a Monday morning.
“You’ll go what mad on a Saturday but when Monday morning it starts again, he’s got a wealth of tactical knowledge as well. I suppose my strongest part of my side is probably I like to be able to manage players, I can see the strengths and weaknesses, I can help them with lacks of confidence cause I’ve been there myself, like I said.
“There’s that psychological side of the game is so important as well.”
Unity is another aspect that Short values in a club as he reflected on his playing experiences under Neil Warnock and the underdog mentality needed when not a top team.
“So it’s pivotal to have that togetherness, that mindset of us, you know, all right you’re the underdog. I know I played for Neil Warnock for years at three clubs. He was always like that was Neil. We’re the underdog. And we’ll take that, we’ll take on the David and Goliath sort of role.
“We have to have that but we have to have a real I know you’ve signed a lot players in the summer and that then they’ve got to integrate themselves, they’ve probably come into a side that’s struggled, so then all of a sudden they get lack of confidence.
“So you’ve got to start making them feel good about themselves as well. It takes some player, it takes them a long time to settle into a new club.
“You know when you’re having a move, it’s strange going to a new environment, meeting new people, you’ve got to prove yourself to your teammates, not just the fans and the manager.
“So that’s what we’re trying to do. Trying to get that belief and that group mentality that are all together. Yes, they’ll fall out. People will make mistakes. That’s when you’re tested as a person when you’re having a bad time. It’s easy when you’re having a good time, when you’re tested because everything’s great.
“But when you’re having a bad time and we’ll go through those moments, we have to really really then be determined to stick together.”