Robbie Savage: I regret forcing a transfer, so I won't sour Macclesfield legacy...

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Robbie Savage: Diary of a Football Manager: Speculation and my transfer regret…

Robbie Savage reveals his regret over forcing a transfer as a player as speculation swirls around the Macclesfield manager at the halfway point of the season…

In association with Planet Sport Bet, Robbie is taking us behind the scenes each week at Macclesfield FC, the phoenix club rising from the ashes of Macclesfield Town, who went bust in 2020.

Robbie has played one of the leading roles in the rebirth of a now-thriving football club, first as director of football, now as first-team manager as the Silkmen seek to climb their way from the ninth tier back to the Football League.

In his latest diary entry, Robbie reacts to speculation linking him with vacant managerial positions in League One…

We’ve reached the halfway point of the season and we’re 16 points clear at the top of the Northern Premier League. We’ve hit the half-century for goals and well over halfway towards 100 points. It is half a job very well done by my players.

Their performances and achievements inevitably lead to speculation, around me and my coaching team, and the squad. It is easy for us to ignore, but there’s no point in pretending it isn’t there. In some ways, we relish it because it is a compliment. As a group, it means we’re doing things right.

So, let’s address it. I’ve been very open about my ambition: I want to manage at the highest level possible.

But anyone thinking I might be looking for a quick leap up the ladder needs to understand how engrossed I am in what we are all trying to achieve at Macclesfield. I am loving being the manager of this club and this squad. MY club, and MY squad. And, right now, nothing is more important to me than taking my players to the next level.

That’s what they deserve. Their motivation, individually, is the rewards that success will bring. It isn’t just as simple as more money and a higher stage. For many of these players, it will allow them to pack in their day jobs and make the transition from part-timer to professional footballer.

Leading them towards that step is a huge privilege and my primary motivation too. It is not a mission I’m prepared to walk away from for the sake of just any club higher up the ladder.

If the time comes when I do move on from Macclesfield, how I do that and the legacy I leave is important to me. Because I’ve got it wrong before.

As a player at Birmingham City, I received an offer from Blackburn. The pull of Rovers was strong – it was closer to home, to my parents, and I loved the idea of playing again for Mark Hughes.

Blues didn’t want to me to go. They turned down two bids and it all became too public. I went from hero to zero in the fans’ eyes. At the time, I was determined to move to Blackburn, but I came to regret the way in which I left St Andrew’s.

As a player, you tend to be very self-centred. It’s completely different as a manager. I feel responsible for the lads in my squad, my coaching team, and all the staff and volunteers at the club. And, of course, the fans. I carry that with me 24 hours a day. So I won’t make anything like the same mistake again.

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Remember, though: we’ve only done half a job. Thinking too far beyond Prescot Cables on Saturday, and Leek Town on Boxing Day, will only take us off our course. Complacency can kill us yet.

There is certainly no sign of the lads letting up. After the big FA Trophy derby at Altrincham – what a day, and what a performance, by the way! – we’ve returned to league action with the same determination that has put us in such a strong position.

It is that relentlessness that makes me most proud of this team. That’s the trait I most admire about the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City when they’ve been dominant down the years. As the biggest club in this league, every opponent is motivated to knock us off our pedestal. And it can be draining – for them as much as us. Alty acknowledged a hangover when they drew 3-3 after our meeting, and Mickleover have lost all three since beating us last month.

At this stage of the winter, with games coming thick and fast, maintaining momentum and keeping the team fresh is a tricky balancing act, especially when all the lads want to play. I rested our top-scorer, Danny Elliott at Bamber Bridge on Tuesday night, which might have looked like a sign that we were taking the game lightly. Quite the opposite. I had watched Bamber Bridge at least four times, as I do every opponent, so I felt a tweak to our shape would help us to deal with what they had to throw at us.

Stockton Town posed a different challenge on Saturday. At home, we like to play 3-4-1-2, with the wide players high to capitalise on the amount of possession we usually enjoy. Stockton were brave and left four up, which prompted some suggestions we switch to a back four. I resisted that temptation, though, because I’m more-than-happy for these boys to go man-for-man all over the pitch.

It became akin to a basketball match, which some modern coaches hate. Many crave control above all else, but I’d back my lads in any duel. As I expected, our quality prevailed, and the 3,000-plus fans enjoyed an entertaining 4-1 win.

Up next for Macc: Prescot Cables (A) and Leek Town (H)
After I take in Chadderton v Bury on Friday night, first versus second in the North West Counties League, to Merseyside we go on Saturday to face Prescot Cables.

I get on well with their manager Steve Daly, who has done a tremendous job after a summer of genuine turmoil at the club. Knowing him, and having done our homework on his side, I’m expecting a really difficult test and, again, our lads will have to come up with some different answers.

Then on Boxing Day, we welcome Leek Town. My players might be part-timers now but I expect them to celebrate Christmas like professionals. Every day will be like Christmas Day for them, doing a job they love, if we go full-time. To achieve that, there can be no let up on the standards they have set themselves during the first half of the season.

Robbie Savage is a brand ambassador for Planet Sport Bet