Andy Morrison: Manager quit Connah's Quay Nomads to 'recharge batteries'
- Published
Andy Morrison was captain of the Manchester City side which won the Division Two play-off final in 1999.
Andy Morrison says he left Cymru Premier champions Connah's Quay Nomads because he needed a break from football and the demands of management.
The former Manchester City defender stepped down after six years in charge at Deeside Stadium, having led the Nomads to back-to-back Welsh titles.
But Morrison said he felt it was "the right time" to step down with assistant Craig Harrison taking over.
"I think it gets lost sometimes on people how hard it is," Morrison said.
"I mean it's six years of European football, now that has been finishing mid-May and starting again on 1 June and during that period of them two weeks you're never away from football, you're planning your pre-season, arranging games, re-signing players and it's just relentless.
"So you know for six years, having to continually do that it is taxing and asks a lot of people.
"Yes, there's a lot of support there and from your assistants, but it's a tough ask, year after year and you just need a period of time sometimes I think to just sit back, reflect on what you've achieved, and then look at your goals going forward and where you'd like to go next."
Morrison cast doubt over his Nomads future immediately after his side had clinched their second successive Cymru Premier title with victory over Penybont in May.
Connah's Quay players celebrate after clinching the Cymru Premier title in May 2021.
But the ex-Plymouth Argyle, Huddersfield Town and Blackpool player decided to continue in the role following talks with the club's chairman Gary Dewhurst and with the chance to manage in the Champions League qualifiers for a second time.
"After speaking with people and the chairman, we obviously had Champions League games to play and I don't know whether I'll be managing in the Champions League again in my career, them chances don't come along very often so we wanted to stay and get through that," Morrison told BBC Radio Wales Sport.
"We carried on through Europe, and we did so well considering the Covid and with the injuries that we had. We played Alashkert, who are in the [Europa Conference League] group stages, and we were six minutes from a penalty shootout against them.
"That was terrific but then you know the season started and going into the first game, we had one sub and seven or eight players missing and it never seemed the right time (to leave).
"Where I'm at now with you know, we safely navigated what could have been two banana skins in the cups, we came through them and the squad is back fit and everybody's available now, so it felt like the right time now to let somebody else pick up where I leave off and wish Craig all the very best great going forward."
'High standards'
His last game in charge saw Nomads beat Trefelin BGC 4-0 in the Welsh Cup following a 6-3 win over another tier two side, Airbus UK, in the Nathaniel MG Cup.
The reigning champions however are eight points behind league leaders The New Saints in the Cymru Premier.
Morrison, who has previously spoken candidly about his battles with mental health, felt it was the right time to step down.
"You need to recharge your batteries because you have high standards you're obliged with signing a contract, the demands are put on you to be the best you can be, and like I said, it's year after year after year after year of that commitment and those levels," Morrison added.
"I think any human being needs to have a have a break and the opportunity to first of all acknowledge the success you've had but also be able to think where you can go next and just breathe and look at things from a different angle, that's what I intend to do.
"Whatever level of football you're at, whether you're struggling at the bottom of the league or whether you're trying to get into the playoffs or trying to win the League, the pressure comes on everyone.
"Managers, whose remit is to try and stay in the league, there's this huge pressure to do that, so it comes in many forms, but for me it was the right time and I knew straight away, within two days of making a decision, that it was the right decision, just the way I felt physically or mentally and the lightness in my mood told me that I'd made the right decision."
Nomads were struggling at the bottom of Welsh football's top-flight when Morrison was appointed in November 2015.
Craig Harrison (left) has succeeded Andy Morrison as Connah's Quay Nomads boss
He transformed the club's fortunes and as well as the two Cymru Premier titles the Flintshire club also won the Welsh Cup in 2018, the Nathaniel MG Cup in 2020, were beaten finalists in the Scottish Challenge Cup in 2019 and qualified for Europe in each of his six seasons at the helm.
"There's so many moments that were incredible and so many relationships built and also over a period of time watching young men become grown men and good men and I've been very fortunate to work with really strong characters and I've been able to watch players grow.
"As I walk away I'll be proud of the of the men that I leave behind, who when they came, they were young insecure footballers and are now established footballers and I take great pride in that.
"The drive is still there. One of the key things is knowing when to take that breather and I'm really going to enjoy these next six to eight weeks.
"I've got a lot of good contacts, right from the Premier League all the way down the league's where I can go in and just watch what managers are doing and see how the game is progressing, away from the Welsh pyramid and then I'm sure my batteries will be fully recharged and I'll be ready to go again."