Savage wants to 'create dynamism' at Forest Green
The move to the Bolt New Lawn will reunite the 50-year-old with his former Wales team-mate Mark Bowen, who was appointed director of football earlier this month, while Savage's son Charlie had a spell on loan at the club during 2023-24.Savage said his experience of the people at the club, particularly during his son's time there, persuaded him to take the job."[The] ambition, the project, the training ground, the new stadium but importantly good people," he said, when asked why he took the role."The way the club treated Charlie when he was here, Claire [Thorley, head of football operations] and all the staff embraced me and my family and I thought, you know what, it's an incremental step for me from Macclesfield."It's an opportunity with good people to try to get Forest Green back into the EFL."Savage, who played for Leicester, Birmingham, Blackburn and Derby among others during his career, had been involved with Macclesfield for five years and was also a director at as well as head coach.He said "delegation" and "collaboration" with the Forest Green hierarchy was key and that he wanted to implement a similar high-press style as at Macclesfield, where the side scored 109 goals last season."I want to use that experience of Mark [Bowen] and (owner) Dale [Vince] to help me and gone are the days where the manager can do everything," Savage said."I want to play a high line, I want to have a team that can press, I want to make the pitch wider and score goals but you need good players to do that - we created it at Macc and I want to do that here."
Helping Forest Green develop more young players is also a high priority next season."They used the loan market well but I want to get the youth team involved in the first-team sessions, in the canteen eating with the first team," Savage said. "I want young players from the academy to go on the bus to away games, to sit in the changing room to see how the older players conduct themselves. "I want to change the perception, I want to create a young, hungry, dynamic squad with pace and power."
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