Return to dugout felt like my first day at school, says Carrick chief Stephen Baxter as he claims debut win against Coleraine
Stephen Baxter says the plans at Carrick Rangers was a major factor in his decision to make the move to Taylors Avenue.
The former Crusaders chief replaced Stuart King in the Carrick dugout last Monday and had instant success as goals from Paul Heatley and Daniel Gibson sealed a 2-1 victory at home against Coleraine.
The Bannsiders halved the deficit with 30 minutes to go through Jamie Glackin's effort but Carrick held firm to secure back-to-back Premiership wins.
"These people at Carrick were very persuasive in terms of what they were looking for and I think the project suits me in regards to getting your teeth into where you want to put your stamp on things and grow," said Baxter when asked about why he took the role on.
"They've got great ideas, they've got great plans in place for a new training facility, new buildings and they've got a good base of local people who are very invested in it.
"It's community driven and that's what I like. I love working with people within a structure and it's a big plus.
"It's not just about the first-team - that's a job in itself - it's the wider picture of trying to give them something to be proud of."
Baxter has managed hundreds of games in the domestic game but admitted Saturday afternoon was like his first day back at school.
He explained: "I think I was awake at 7:30am and I was thinking 'why am I doing this at 7:30am?' as I normally lie into 9am.
"I've had a lot in my head since Monday and everyday was running into this and a lot of work has gone into it.
"There's been hours and hours of work and I had to give a presentation to the players on Thursday night and I did another big presentation today about how I wanted them to play and about their responsibilities.
"You have to nearly condense it as you don't have that much time to do it...so it all felt a little bit strange.
"It felt like my first day back at school but with new surroundings and a new job and I want to try and put my stamp on it and help people and see if we can get them moving in the right direction.
"This group looks like a real honest bunch of boys and when they look at you in the eye and give it back to you, then you can say 'right I can do this with this group of people'."
And what did Baxter make of his side’s victory against the Bannsiders in his first game in charge?
He stated: "We had tactically worked on stuff that I wanted them to do and I wanted them to play and I felt we did that exceptionally well in the first-half, given we were playing into the more difficult conditions.
"We scored two goals and we should have scored at least two more as we were very dominant.
"As I thought the legs might tire given the amount of effort I asked them to put into certain things...I knew we might struggle in the second-half with fitness which proved the case and we were under the cosh a little bit.
"I think the Coleraine goal was a mile offside...so that said whilst Coleraine had a lot of the ball, I felt we restricted them to very little which was pleasing in many ways.”