BAX TO THE FUTURE
Press Eye, Belfast, Northern Ireland - 28th January 2012 Irn Bru league cup final between Coleraine and Crusaders at Ballymena showgrounds. Coleraines and Crusaders Photograph: Stephen Hamilton Presseye.com
STEPHEN Baxter was quick to dispel suggestions he may be suffering a ‘seven-year itch’ at Seaview.
Baxter lifted his third senior trophy with Crusaders on Saturday as the Shore Road men claimed a 1-0 win over Coleraine in the final of the IRN-BRU League Cup at the Ballymena Showgrounds.
It has been an impressive return of silverware since taking over from Alan Dornan back in 2005.
Baxter suffered the ignominy of relegation during his first season in charge, but since returning the club to the Premiership ranks he has helped cement their position in the top four of the league.
He has also lifted the County Antrim Shield, Irish Cup and now the League Cup.
His rise to prominence has prompted speculation over his future, with Baxter being linked with the vacant Glentoran manager’s post.
But for Baxter, he has no intentions of exiting Seaview.
“I have no ambition to manage a so-called bigger club,” he said.
“I get bombarded with that question 10 times a day. Blah blah blah. I don’t look beyond today.
“I don’t sit and think ‘I wish I was doing this’. I do the best job I can where I work, in every job I do. If people recognise what you do, then great. But I have never applied for a job in my life.
“I do this for fun. We came to this final today and the board were running around nervous – the bangers had gone. But I didn’t have one nervous bone in my body.
“It doesn’t faze me in any shape or form. You have a pre-match build-up and a big occasion to deal with, but someone has to stay calm.
“I enjoy it. This beats shopping on a Saturday. It was the way I was brought up as a player. I played at the top level winning titles and trophies, so I know what it is all about. So I have to maintain that hunger as a person during the cold and dirty nights in training.
“I remember what was required when I was a player, so I pass that on to my players in order to get the best. But it is not about me, it is about them.”
Chris Morrow’s man of the match display saw the influential playmaker score the winning goal in the 35th minute.
Morrow latched onto Stuart Dallas’ delicate flick before running through on goal and squeezing a shot past Gavin Cullen.
It was the latest silverware success for a club which has battled against financial uncertainty in recent years.
“There are four trophies to win every season, and Linfield generally win two of them. So that leaves two,” Baxter added.
“So for us to be competing and winning one of the others is huge success for a club this size.
“I think some of our fans expect Crusaders to be winning championships, but that is a different animal based over 40 weeks with lots of hurdles to jump over – just like Aintree.
“So we have to be realistic in our approach. Would I love to win a title? I would give up all my other trophies to achieve that. But that is a different challenge over a longer period of time.
“If someone at Crusaders gave me an extra £200,000 to work on, then that might work. But we are not in that position.
“If I was to embarrass myself and the players if I revealed some of the wages we play, then I would be laughed out of town.
“It is amazing that people are talking titles at Crusaders.
“You have to set out your stall where you are going, how you get there and how much you spend.
“We have been competing in this league. I have lost four finals during my time and we have won three. So we are in there pitching every year, and I have always said we have to be doing that.”
Baxter believes in the ethos of hard work – both on and off the pitch – as he plots Crusaders’ future in Irish League football.
“How do we go forward as a club? We have to continue work really hard behind the scenes to maintain this level. That is one heck of a job,” he added.
“We have to structure the club to get into cup finals and the top four of the league – if is a 24/7 job. And the players know that.”
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
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Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light showers
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