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7 months ago
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Tottenham will be supporting 'one of their own' as a thrilling climax to the National League season sees five teams battling to avoid relegation on the final day.
One of the clubs with all to play for on Saturday lunchtime is Wealdstone whose manager Sam Cox is a former Spurs academy team-mate of Harry Kane, Ryan Mason and Andros Townsend, and still works at the Premier League club coaching the under-15s.
He joined Wealdstone's coaching staff in January and became interim manager a fortnight ago.
Remarkably the north-west London club still need a result at Oldham to guarantee safety despite having 53 points already.
Kidderminster, Dorking and Oxford City are already down but the remaining relegation place lies between Boreham Wood (51 points), Woking (52) and Ebbsfleet, York and Wealdstone (all 53).
Spurs are showing support to Wealdstone interim boss Sam Cox as he looks to avoid relegation
Cox played for Tottenham at youth level alongside the likes of Harry Kane and Ryan Mason
The 33-year-old still works at Tottenham, where he coaches the club's Under-15 team
Wealdstone are the only genuinely part-time team among the quintet, their players having other jobs and training on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
'It's been a crazy season in the National League to say the least,' reflects Cox. 'You could go down with 54 points and into the play-offs with 68. It's been that close.'
Cox, 33, has tried to replicate some of the footballing philosophy learned at Spurs while also dealing with a backlog of fixtures caused by postponements.
'We have to keep training pretty light because most of the boys are knackered from the pile-up of games and their own day jobs,' he admits.
'It's been gruelling but we're not complaining. The lads have been great. To be on your feet all day and then play football in the evening isn't easy.'
Though Wealdstone's prospects are intertwined with results from elsewhere, Cox doesn't want his players to get bogged down with the maths.
'We set out at kick off with the mentality of winning the game which I believe we can do,' he says. 'But we will have a member of staff assigned to know what is going on so with 10 minutes left we've got an idea of how to play.
'There will be noise around what's going on so it is important the players only hear one clear voice from me regarding the situation. But as I say, that's not for us to worry about at the start. If we do our job and win, we'll be safe regardless.'
Cox received a message of support from his former Tottenham team-mate Andros Townsend
During an absorbing career, Cox has also captained the Guyana national team
Wealdstone have made shrewd signings, some permanent like goalkeeper Marcus Dewhurst from Sheffield United and other loans such as 20-year-old Charlton midfielder Aaron Henry.
'We've got good young players. We play attractive football the way in which fans will enjoy,' said Cox. 'I fully believe in this group. It has been a tough season but adversity builds character.'
Cox balances his work at Wealdstone with his role at Spurs, and has his own academy too.
It's the latest twist to an absorbing career. As a player, he played non-league after being released by Spurs in 2010, captained Guyana and has had a cameo role in cult TV sporting comedy Ted Lasso.
Though he's not officially hung up his boots, coaching is now the main focus. 'I'm juggling a lot of plates,' he says. 'I've had really good coaches at Spurs to learn from; John McDermott, Alex Ingelthorpe, Bradley Allen.
'I always thought I'd have a future in management. It has just come earlier than I thought.
'We had an unbelievable cohort when I was at Spurs as a youngster. I played with Ryan Mason, Harry Kane, Danny Rose.
'Andros (Townsend) sent me a lovely message the day I got asked to do the Wealdstone job. Steven Caulker has been to our games and introduced himself to the players. I'd say the Spurs family is unbreakable.'
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