A Conversation with Russell Horsley

Our exclusive interview with the club president

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Russell Horsley shatters the mould of the typical Thai football club director. He's not a former politician seeking personal gain, nor an entrepreneur looking to curry favour in the local market. In the two weeks since his takeover of Phuket Andaman FC, Russell hasn't missed a single training session.

I join him on a wet and dreary afternoon at the Surakul Stadium. While most would rather be anywhere else, Russell is in his element, greeting every player and coach with a 'wai' and a warm smile. Change is afoot at the club, and not just because they have a chairman who genuinely cares. The players have been assured that their wages will always be paid on time, and for the first time in the club's history, they all have health insurance. These may seem like small things, but they're monumental for most League Three teams in Thailand. It's no wonder that Russell has been inundated with interest from players who should be playing at a much higher level.

Despite the palpable excitement in his voice, Russell is keen to remain grounded. He emphasises the need for patience and how the Phuket Andaman project will take time. This is no Arab or US-style football takeover like we see so often in the English Premier League or French Ligue 1. It's a holistic approach, one that will be created in Russ's image. He's the first to admit that he'll take the blame if it doesn't work out. But talking to him, it's hard to disagree with his vision.

Russ played football as a youngster but was forced to quit due to a serious injury. This led him to play and coaching in non-league football in the UK. He quickly built a reputation for himself and started his coaching career at Derby County. His journey has taken him from the Premier League with Fulham to Spain and Eastern Europe in Bulgaria. Over time, he shifted his focus towards youth development, where his true passion lies.

He describes the moment that made him think about Thailand and the possibility of starting something in the Kingdom. He was running a post-Brexit academy for foreign players in Spain for Fulham when he met a young Thai trialist who had bags of skill. He had great ball control and ability, but mentally, he was years behind his peers due to his lack of fight and non-competitive nature. While English and European youngsters are taught to believe in their ability and to compete, this young player almost apologised for every tackle he made. This sparked an idea in Russ that if he could come to Thailand and teach those skills, he could be onto something.

Russ has spent the last two years in Phuket pursuing his dream of setting up a football club. He looked into forming a club from scratch and had discussions with clubs all over the kingdom, either to be a part-owner or to take over completely. When the opportunity to take over Phuket Andaman FC came about, he jumped at it.

The club has had a turbulent history. It was formed as Phuket FC in 2009 and made rapid progress in its first few seasons, gaining promotion alongside Buriram to T1 in 2011. It had strong affiliations with Muang Thong United at the time, with many loan players coming to the south. Financially, things were not good, though, and their time in the top flight didn't last long. In 2017, the club dissolved due to financial difficulties and ongoing issues with player contracts. In 2018, the remnants of the club merged with Phuket City FC to form Patong City FC in the amateur and later T3 South. The club was rebranded in its current form at the start of the 2022/23 season and has spent the last two years bobbing along in T3 South. Enter Russ and the Higher Sports Academy with their takeover and plans for the future.

That paints a rather rosy picture of the whole situation, but it has been far from easy. The takeover, in typical Thai business fashion, dragged on and was more complicated than anyone could have imagined. Players who were earmarked to join went elsewhere as the season approached. The Thai system caused many headaches. At the time of our meeting, the fixture list for the season had yet to be finalised, and the team was having to train with last year's balls. Under Thai football regulations, teams are only allowed to train with the set 15 match balls. Despite repeated requests for this year's balls, they had not been provided. So, they were forced to use the balls from last season or face a fine.

The previously mentioned mentality difference also takes some getting used to. Players have been warned that they are expected to turn up on time and maintain good levels of fitness and diet. These have been failings in Thai football for years. Russ talks about how the players have taken to the challenge, though, and how he has been surprised by their response. He is working hard to instill a fighting edge in them and to give them the drive that is sometimes missing.

I was curious to know if he thought that his influence alone could make a difference to the team's position. He agrees. The squad, though much changed, has kept nine core members from last season's squad, which finished a disappointing 9th out of 12 teams. When asked, he believes his team alone can finish in the top places, and this is before any foreign players have been confirmed (there are currently several trialists, but none have been confirmed).

Changes have been made in the few weeks since the takeover. The players now have a set training ground in Chalong, whereas previously they rotated between five different locations, and players were only told on the day where to turn up (not great for the aforementioned timekeeping). The head coach remains, but several Western coaches have joined the team to work on mentality and fitness.

Russ says that he wants the team to play attacking, front-foot, progressive football. The team will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and will look to play attractive football. He states that maybe they won't get promoted this season, but they will entertain and make the supporters proud. Speaking of which, he knows that the fans need to be kept informed, and steps are being taken to increase communication with the fanbase, who have often felt cut off from the club under the old regime.

When pushed on ambitions, Horsley is keen to state that it may take a few years to get out of T3, but he is confident it will happen sooner rather than later and that the plan is to have the club playing in the Thai Premier League (T1) within five years. On whether they can be competitive at that level, he was more coy, stating that the club would need more investment to reach that goal.

He has an ambitious plan to open a sports-based international school on the island, complete with a full stadium for the club to play at. This would, in part, fund the club and also help sow the seeds for the youth development he so craves. The academy has now launched for the club, and youngsters from around the island are being coached, hopefully, to one day turn out for the club. Russ talks about a long-term ambition of having a team of 11 Phuket-born academy players turn out for the club.

There has also been keen interest from abroad. He is in discussions with both Atletico Madrid and Nottingham Forest to forge genuine club ties, where young players from these European giants would come on loan, along with coaching and other resources.

Whatever happens this season, it's going to be a good one for this local club, which has a catchment area to attract a large fanbase and the recognition that the island needs in its local team.