Graham Alexander tells his MK Dons players to use West Ham’s European hero Jarrod Bowen as inspiration to reach the top
pThis summer the Dons boss used West Ham winger a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/jarrod-bowen/Bowen/a as a perfect case study for his team — after the former non-league Hereford playera href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/22515074/west-ham-fiorentina-europa-conference-league-final-live-stream-tv-channel-online/ scored the winner in the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina/a to end the Hammers’ 43-year wait for a trophy./p
figure id=attachment_23832804 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async fetchpriority=high src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/03f1af2d-d316-49ca-912c-38dfb6ff39b1.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt=Pic by Arfa Graham Alexander.M.K.Dons 10-07-2023 class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23832804 width=960 height=575 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textGraham Alexander is enjoying being back in EFL management with MK Dons/figcaptionfigcredit/figcredit/figure
figure id=attachment_23832859 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/8465ad3f-3e1b-4845-8413-5aece0abbdbe.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt=EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or quot;livequot; services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Simon Dael/Shutterstock (13949243jh) Jarrod Bowen of West Ham United celebrates after winning the UEFA Europa Conference League final Fiorentina v West Ham United, UEFA Europa Conference League, Final, Football, Fortuna Arena, Prague, Czech Republic - 07 Jun 2023 class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23832859 width=960 height=869 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textJarrod Bowen went from playing Hereford to being a European trophy hero/figcaptionfigcredit/figcredit/figure
pAlexander himself laboured in League Two for several years with Scunthorpe but went on to become the oldest player to make his top-flight debut with a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/team/1225466/burnley/Burnley/a aged 37./p
pHe told SunSport: “There are many examples of players who climbed the divisions —nbsp;the likes of Jamie Vardy, Michail Antonio, Bowen and, although not as high-profile, myself.nbsp;/p
p“I played at this level for seven years from 16 to 23 but ended up in the Premier League, scoring against Manchester City and Arsenal.nbsp;/p
p“When I was in League Two I didn’t think of being a Premier League player. I wanted to get to the next level then the next one after that and kept doing that.nbsp;/p
p“It was my belief the Premier League was too far for me as a player and I’m sure Jarrod Bowen would have been thinking that at Hereford rather than, ‘I’ll be playing in a European final one day and scoring the winner!’/p
p“This’s what players must believe. It might not happen overnight, might not happen in the next month or the next two seasons./p
p“But if you keep making improvements and dedicating yourself to your job and career, if you’re good enough you can do anything if you make the right decisions and show the right level of commitment and quality.”/p
pIt was while playing at Preston under Bowen’s Hammers boss a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/david-moyes/David Moyes/a in the third tier that Alexander’s game improved leaps and bounds./p
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figure id=attachment_23832924 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/d2f95bb5-2b9a-43a8-b8f7-61adaf8b2405.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt=Hereford United FC v Woking FC. Jarrod Bowen on the attack. class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23832924 width=960 height=897 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textBowen in his non-league days playing for Hereford/figcaptionfigcredit/figcredit/figure
figure id=attachment_23833065 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2dc0a8c0-a094-4ad8-bd67-afb924854c65.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt=EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists (outside the EU), club/league logos or quot;livequot; services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images (+15 in extra time). No use to emulate moving images. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications/services. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Lindsey Parnaby/EPA/Shutterstock (7635339p) Burnley's Graham Alexander Equalises 1-1 Against Arsenal From a Penalty During Their English Premiership League Soccer Match at the Turfmoor Stadium in Burnley North West Britain 16 December 2009 United Kingdom Burnley Britain Soccer Premier League - Dec 2009 class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23833065 width=960 height=669 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textAlexander converts from the spot for Burnley against Arsenal/figcaptionfigcredit/figcredit/figure
pHe said: “I turned my life upside down. I thought I knew what dedication was then I moved to a club and played under Moyes and thought, ‘That’s dedication.’ It wasn’t just Moyes driving me, it was my team-mates too./p
p“Vardy left Fleetwood in 2012 then he’s won the Premier League in 2016. Anything is possible.”/p
pAlexander’s managerial career has seen him ruthlessly sacked twice —nbsp;providing proof madness reigns supreme in some boardrooms./p
pFirst Scunthorpe wielded the axe five years ago when they were FIFTH in League One with Alexander set to take the club into the play-offs for the second successive season./p
pThat decision backfired disastrously with Scunny suffering strongTHREE /strongrelegations.nbsp;/p
pUnder Alexander, they could have been promoted to the Championship —nbsp;but instead today they are hosting South Shields in the National League North!/p
figure id=attachment_23832975 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/4e37b06b-d1e2-4f78-b56b-33d369333dc3.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt=Pic by Arfa Graham Alexander.M.K.Dons 10-07-2023 class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23832975 width=960 height=565 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textGraham Alexander made the journey himself from fourth tier to the Premier League/figcaptionfigcredit/figcredit/figure
figure id=attachment_23833180 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/dbebad3d-a4b1-4696-a35b-efd36ee75b7b.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt=Pic by Arfa Graham Alexander.M.K.Dons 10-07-2023 class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23833180 width=960 height=918 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textOur man Justin Allen caught up with Alexander in Milton Keynes/figcaptionfigcredit/figcredit/figure
figure id=attachment_23880333 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/NINTCHDBPICT000843162089.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23880333 width=960 height=640 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textAlexander is the League two manager of the month for August/figcaptionfigcredit/figcredit/figure
pAnd then three years ago a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/gary-neville/Gary Neville/a lost control of his senses by firing the former Scotland international with the club strongFIFTH /strongin League Two./p
pThis was despite Alexander getting the club promoted to the EFL for the first time in their history, finishing 11th in their maiden fourth-tier season and reaching the EFL Trophy final, which they went on to win./p
pThe ambitious Class of 92-owned club are still in League Two, 17th in the table./p
pAlexander said: “Football management is wild and brutal so what I’ve gone on to realise is you do the best you can.nbsp;/p
p“All people in positions of responsibility must make decisions, including me, and I won’t get them all right and it’s the same for owners./p
p“Scunthorpe were my first club as a player and I went back to manage them. I left when they were high up in League One so it’s horrendous to see where they are now./p
p“When I got the sack at Salford, I wasn’t shocked. I wanted to continue with the players and what we were doing but it was a unique scenario where on reflection it was right for both sides to part because I was being asked to not be myself.”/p
pNeville has since admitted he was wrong to sack Alexander, who added: “I’ve spoken to the guys at Salford since. I’ve got no problems with it, life’s too short./p
figure id=attachment_23833873 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/c30476d2-4bd7-40e7-a24f-f405ac839aae.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt=Soccer Football - League One - Scunthorpe United vs Rochdale - Glanford Park, Scunthorpe, Britain - March 24, 2018 Scunthorpe United manager Graham Alexander Action Images/John Clifton EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or quot;livequot; services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details. class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23833873 width=960 height=846 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textAlexander had Scunthorpe flying high in League One five years ago yet since his sacking they have crashed all the way to National League North/figcaptionfigcredit/figcredit/figure
figure id=attachment_23834046 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/f43f5e52-dcc4-4cdb-97ab-672438277ab3.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt=EDITORIAL USE ONLY No use with unauthorised audio, video, data, fixture lists (outside the EU), club/league logos or quot;livequot; services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images (+15 in extra time). No use to emulate moving images. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications/services. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ashley Western/Frozen in Motion/REX (10233473ax) Salford City's Manager Graham Alexander with Gary Neville in the dressing room after their 3-0 victory AFC Fylde v Salford City, Vanarama National League Play-off Final, Football, Wembley Stadium, London, UK - 11 May 2019 class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23834046 width=960 height=937 /figcaption class=wp-caption-textHe was bizarrely sacked at Salford by Gary Neville/figcaptionfigcredit/figcredit/figure
p“I just put it in the bin and move on. I didn’t need Gary to say those kind things.nbsp;/p
p“Only one person gets to be first on the moon so to be part of that group that was the first to bring Salford into the EFL, I’m immensely proud.”/p
pAlexander has bounced back well./p
pFirst he took charge of SPL club Motherwell where he not only saved them from relegation but guided them to fifth in his full season in charge —nbsp;qualifying for the Europa Conference League./p
pIn fact, during his 18 months at Fir Park only Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers won more league points than Motherwell./p
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pOnly one person gets to be first on the moon so to be part of the group that was the first to bring Salford into the EFL, I’m immensely proud/p
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span class=quote-creditGRAHAM ALEXANDER/span /cite
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pAnd now he is back in League Two with MK Dons where they go into today’s home game with leaders Notts County sitting second after six matches — as they bid to bounce straight back to League One after relegation. /p
pHe has also been named the SkyBet manager of the month in the division./p
pAlexander has a big family link with Milton Keynes as all three of his children were born in the city —nbsp;as he lived in the city while playing for Luton in the 1990s./p
pAnd he said: “I saw this job as an opportunity to work for a good club./p
p“When you see the infrastructure and what the club has tried to do over 20 years, it’s had spells of progression where it’s been close to where it thought it could get to and then dropped back down.nbsp;/p
p“I remember the club being in the Championship seven years ago when I was managing Fleetwood —nbsp;but they haven’t progressed as far as they would have liked to.nbsp;/p
p“Football is tough. You must win on the pitch and the game in that regard hasn’t changed.nbsp;/p
p“We’ve got 12 points from our first six games, which we’re content but not ecstatic about. However, if we can continue in that vein, we have a great chance of doing something good this season.”/p