Gary Taylor-Fletcher column: A managerial near miss and a vote of confidence for Simon Grayson at Blackpool

I did really well and all the feedback I received was very positive in terms of how I want to play and how I want to work.

To get to the final two for a League Two job was unbelievable but it’s still not that job, so I’ve got to keep working hard.

I had two-and-a-half years working in management over in Wales but now is the time to get a job over here in England.

A few other jobs have come up which I have applied for and I’ve had a few interviews, but the Macclesfield one is the closest one I’ve been to getting it.

I think they were looking for someone younger and up-and-coming, who has only just finished playing, to come in and put their stamp on things.

I ticked their boxes as I’ve had plenty of experience in all of the leagues as a player and a bit of recent coaching experience too.

It all depends on what the club is looking for; someone who can play attacking football and build a club up or someone who has experience of taking clubs away from relegation.

At Macclesfield it was a little bit different as they wanted someone to go and help grow the club, which is what I’ve done before at Bangor and what I’ll be looking to do again somewhere else.

While I’d love to be a manager I’d also be more than happy to go into a club as an assistant or a coach.

I’m not afraid of working under someone, that’s part and parcel of the job we’re in because sometimes you have to go in as an assistant to see what the role is about and that can ultimately make you a better manager in the end.

Focusing on Blackpool, they had a good run up until the start of December but since then it’s not really worked out.

The performances haven’t been as good as they should be and, reading on social media, the fans are now starting to get a bit agitated.

It’s a difficult time for Simon Grayson but he’s been through it all before and I’m sure he can turn it around.

The fans want to go and see the team play attacking football and they had a good few weeks doing that earlier in the season when some key players returned from injury.

But sometimes, when you come back from injury, you can be alright for three or four games but then all of a sudden it catches up to you – and that seems to be happening at this moment.

Blackpool have obviously been busy in the transfer market, which was always going to be the case as Simon only arrived at the club at the end of July.

A lot of transfer business had already been done during the summer before he arrived, so he’s probably taken a good look at the squad and worked out which ones are not his type of player and what positions he needs to strengthen in.

They’ve brought in a few players – and obviously lost one or two as well – but we’ll have to see how they bed in.

In other news, I recently spent a week out in the US attending a coaching convention in Baltimore.

That was great to network and look at some of the crazy gadgets that will probably be coming over to England in the next few years.

Once I found out I wasn’t getting the Macclesfield job I headed out there to see what opportunities were there and it was a great experience.