TAMPA, Fla. — This week, the Tampa Bay Rowdies added their third head coach in as many weeks. Neill Collins left to take over Barnsley FC in England. Assistant coach Stuart Dobson took over in the interim. This week, the team brought back a familiar face to become the full-time head coach.
35-year-old Nicky Law played 15 games for the Rowdies last season. He took an assistant coaching job with Huntsville City FC of the MLS Next Pro league. Law said he's excited to return to his old stomping grounds as a coach.
"It was a no-brainer, easy decision," Law said after Friday's training session. "Getting the guys with someone they know a little bit, maybe feel a little bit of comfort in that. Rather than maybe someone coming in who kind of doesn’t know the club and the players, the way they play."
The joke in the locker room was that Law was coming back as a player-coach, and that got plenty of laughs. Rowdies captain Aaron Guillen knows his former teammate is the right person for this job.
"He knows the club. He’s played for us. He knows what it feels like to be on the field on Saturday. And he’s going to encourage us to keep doing what we’ve been doing," Guillen said. "We’ve been doing the right things, and we just need to keep going. And we have him as a leader to keep pushing us."
After a slow start to the season, Tampa Bay is 9-1-3 in their last 13 games. Law said he doesn't feel any pressure to keep the hot streak alive. He knows the standards of the franchise will always be to compete at a championship level.
"It’s not something to be scared of, it’s something to really relish," Law explained. "I’m excited to get started, and hopefully, I can deliver some results early and get us to where we want to be, come the end."
"Each day is a new day to get better. I think the guys come out and give 100% to build on that," Guillen added. "Obviously, that run of 13 games shows that we are capable of doing that, and that we’re a top team in this league. So we just need continue to do what we’ve been doing."
The Rowdies (10-5-5) host FC Tulsa (7-7-7, 5 straight wins) for Pride Night tomorrow at Al Lang Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
