Former Wrexham and Coventry man to stay at club despite relegation
PONTYPRIDD, WALES - 13 AUGUST 2022: Flint Town manager Lee Fowler during the 2022/23 JD Cymru Premier League fixture between Pontypridd United & Flint Town United at USW Sports Park, August 13th 2022, Pontypridd, Wales (Pic By John Smith/FAW)
Lee Fowler says that Flint Town United have ‘serious work to do’ after confirming he will stay with the club after their relegation from the Cymru Premier.
The Silkmen were relegated on a dramatic final day of the season, with Fowler’s side losing 3-2 to Pontypridd United, despite twice taking the lead. Flint needed to just better or match Aberystwyth’s result but ended up losing whilst Aber won 3-2 against Caernarfon Town.
Okera Simmonds put Flint in front but former Aberystwyth forward Owain Jones equalised, before Thomas Davies cancelled out Rhys Kavanagh’s effort. Ben Ahmun went on to score in the 82nd minute and there was no response.
Flint struggled for form in Phase Two and only won two of their 10 matches, which both came against already relegated Airbus, who failed to win a game all season. After the full-time whistle blew at the USW Sport Park, the 39-year-old opted to conduct a huddle around the dugout, where he spoke to his players for a period about their relegation.
In his post-match interview with Sgorio, he said: I’m disappointed, I apologise to the fans, we’ve got some serious work to do now over the summer.
“It is difficult, especially with the consequence of the game. They worked their bums off for me all season. You try to analyse a game where you’ve lost and been relegated in is very difficult to comprehend what you want to say.
“We’ll sit down, digest it and go over it now with the recruitment, and get the right characters in. We need some big characters in the league below and we’ll have a good go at it next season.”
Fowler, alongside UEFA Pro Licence holder and former Llandudno boss Iwan Williams, took over from Neil Gibson in the summer. Several first-team players left the Essity Stadium, and the former Wrexham midfielder was tasked with assembling an almost entirely new squad.
Flint, along with Airbus will compete in the Cymru North next season, with two northern teams going down but only one promotion spot available next year. The Flintshire side will come up against former top-flight teams like Holywell Town, who pushed Colwyn Bay hard for the title, as well as Llandudno, and Prestatyn Town.
“Yes, I will be there,” responded Fowler when asked if he would remain at the club despite their relegation.
“Me and Iwan have enjoyed the club, we knew it was a tough task when we took over. I’m not going to go into the external things of what’s going on but what happens is we know our budget now, we know we’re in tier two, so now we’ve got to crack on, work hard and try and get back in this league.
