A CUSHY job in New York, time off to travel the United States and permanent blue skies – it’s no wonder Paul Buckle didn’t miss management much.
The ex-Torquay and Bristol Rovers boss quit Luton Town in February 2013 after his wife, the former ESPN presenter Rebecca Lowe, was offered a megabucks job with American sports broadcaster NBC.
Since then he has been living it up Stateside, attending training courses and fronting a training academy set up by national team boss Jurgen Klinsmann in the Big Apple.
But after League Two strugglers Cheltenham Town came calling, the 43-year-old decided the time had come to end his American adventure – even if it means a long-distance relationship with his better half.
“We’ve got a fantastic lifestyle and I certainly wasn’t sitting there pining to be a manager,” admits Buckle, who replaces the long-serving Mark Yates at Whaddon Road.
“I was technical director of an academy in New York. It was part-time, so it gave me the freedom to see a lot of America. It was a brilliant time and I learned so much.
“But when someone calls you and says they’ve admired your work, that they want you at their club, that’s a difficult call to ignore.
“Rebecca’s been incredibly supportive. She’s a true professional in what she does and she understands. We’ve both said we’d never stand in each other’s way when it comes to jobs.
“I’d actually been offered three management jobs in the US and I was seriously thinking about taking one up. But it isn’t like England, where there are thousands of clubs within a few hours. Some of these places were a five-hour journey on a plane just to go to work.
“So when me and Rebecca sat down to discuss it she said ‘Well, if you’re going to be travelling that far, you might want to look at England as well’.
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“And the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I’ve got two children here so I’d been coming back on a regular basis anyway. My boy is an apprentice at Torquay, my daughter’s going to be in college soon.
“I’ve also kept my eye in at a lot of clubs so I’m not out of touch. And Rebecca gets all the international breaks off so she can come over then. It all fits really well.”
Not that Buckle has chosen an easy route back. The side he inherits have lost eight of their last 13 games and shipped 14 goals in their last five.
Now 18th in League Two, it is a dismal run that brought the five-year reign of Yates to an end, and with it the third-longest tenure of any manager in the top four divisions.
Yet while Buckle admits he will have a job restoring belief, he takes comfort in the longevity of his predecessor.
“I know it’s not going to be easy,” he said. “As the chairman said to me, it’s a tough job. With the transfer window gone, we’re going into battle with what we’ve got. So this is a chance for the players here to prove to me they are good enough to get us up the league.
“But what really swung it for me was that Cheltenham stuck with Mark for a number of years. That gives you real hope that you’ll get the support and backing you need.”
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