Shadab Iftikhar opens up on joining Fort William, Hibs boss Shaun Maloney, Roberto Martinez and his Highland League plans
Last summer, he was working for a Belgium side that includes some of the biggest names on the planet in Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard. Fast forward seven months, and Shadab Iftikhar has began the unenviable task of attempting to revive the fortunes of Fort William, as he swaps the European Championships for the Breedon Highland League.
To the casual observer, it may seem a strange move – but this is no ordinary manager. Aside from working as an opposition scout for Belgium at Euro 2020, his experiences in the game have been hugely varied, from coaching a Sunday league side and being a ‘Championship Manager addict’, to working with Roberto Martinez at Everton and Wigan, before gaining his UEFA A License aged just 22 and enjoying spells coaching in Samoa and Mongolia – the latter as assistant manager of the Mongolian national side.
On Sunday, 46 days since his appointment, and after three matches had been postponed due to covid-19 cases, Iftikhar finally took his first steps into management in Scotland, as his Fort William side were beaten by Brechin City 4-0. And he was left in no doubt about the uphill task facing him and his side, who have incredibly only won three matches since the beginning of the 2017/2018 season. Prior to Saturday, they had lost their last two matches 12-0 and 10-0 and they have finished bottom of the league in 12 out of the past 18 seasons.
Iftikhar, who was born and raised in Preston, admits that the level of publicity around his appointment at the end of November was “a bit of a shock” with interviews on Sky Sports News and various outlets, but it should be no surprise given his impressive, if unusual CV and the fact that he became the first manager in senior Scottish football to come from South Asian heritage.
So why make the move to a side that has struggled so much in recent years and have only one solidarity point from 16 matches this term?
The perfect marriage
“I’ve always been fascinated by Scotland and the amount of quality managers that have come from the country”, said Iftikhar.
“A very good friend of mine is former Scotland player Willie Donachie. I spent an awful lot of time with him at Accrington, and we always spoke about Scottish football.
“I’ve always taken an interest so when the chance to manage Fort William came up it ticked every box – even boxes that didn’t need ticking in terms of the beautiful place, the owner John Trew, the fanbase, and the club itself – it’s just a perfect marriage.”
Iftikhar is under no illusions of the challenge that presents itself, but he was sold on the project at Fort William. He is full of praise for the club’s ambitious chairman Trew, and points to the fact that club is in the process of moving towards being full time and he has already been backed in the last month, recruiting six new players, mostly from English non-league.
“We know it’s not going to be easy and we’re not coming in with all the answers”, he admits. “Any manager that comes in has their own ideas but you have to understand what players are there and what the situation is and you have to find some common ground.”
A massive task ahead
The first priority will be somehow dragging the perennial strugglers away from relegation, which was voted through for the Breedon Highland League last year and will come into force for the first time at the end of this season.
It is certainly a task that could be