Steve Morison: Ex-boss held Cardiff City talks before taking Hornchurch non-league job

Former Millwall striker Steve Morison won 20 caps for Wales, scoring one goal

Steve Morison held talks with Cardiff City about returning as manager before he joined Hornchurch, the non-league club's chairman says.

Former Wales striker Morison had been out of work since he was sacked by the Championship club last September.

The 39-year-old raised eyebrows when he was appointed by Hornchurch, who play in England's seventh tier, on Thursday.

"I had a number of conversations with Steve," Hornchurch chairman Alex Sharp told the club's YouTube channel.

"He and I were then out of the country at different times and obviously, as a board, we reviewed all the applicants we had.

"To add complication to it, Steve was still involved in the Cardiff manager situation and was in active conversations to go back.

"Then, we had the final conversation when he said, 'Yeah, I'm really up for it, I really like this'.

"If we felt, as a board, he was doing this as a six-month gig to try and get back into the Football League, we wouldn't have made the decision.

"But you'll see that's not his intention at all. He is prepared to sign a decent contract with us and I think we will benefit significantly from having him at the club."

Cardiff were one place and two points above the Championship relegation zone when Morison took over, initially on a caretaker basis, following the sacking of Mick McCarthy in October 2021.

Morison was given the job on a permanent basis later that season as he guided the Bluebirds to safety, before he was dismissed early in the following campaign.

Mark Hudson and Sabri Lamouchi then had short spells in charge as Cardiff narrowly avoided relegation again, and now Erol Bulut has taken the reins.

Although Morison enjoyed some success during his time at Cardiff, there was turbulence too as he drew criticism for his treatment of players such as Rubin Colwill and Isaak Davies.

It would therefore come as a surprise to many that he was linked with a return to the Welsh capital - but it was a bigger shock that his next managerial job came five divisions lower than his previous one.

Hornchurch 'head space'

"I've had a tough eight months out of the game," Morison, who spent some of his playing career in non-league, said of his Hornchurch appointment.

"I have been away on holiday, come back and everything just feels right. It's where I need to be in my current head space. It's right where I started my journey as a football player. I feel like I want to be part of this football club making its journey up the leagues.

"I went to Cardiff Under-23s and then through the good work I did with the Under-23s I got an opportunity to help the first team stay in the Championship, which I managed to do in my first season.

"Obviously, I got the gig full-time and unfortunately only lasted 10 games after a big summer rebuild, so it was a frustrating one. But it is what it is, can't worry about it now.

"I've learned a lot about myself. I'm really pleased to be here."