Caribbean experience spurs AFC Telford's Darren Read
Last updated on .From the section Football
AFC Telford assistant Darren Read is drawing on his time with Montserrat to keep the club's plight in perspective.
Read had a spell coaching Fifa's lowest-ranked international side in 2004-5, and told BBC Radio Shropshire: "Nothing can faze me.
"At my first session, the players turned up in two minibuses, reggae music blaring, and only two of them had boots - the rest were barefoot.
"After all that, any problems at Telford can always be sorted out."
He added: "It was all a fantastic experience that's stood me in great stead, not everyone can say they've coached a national side."
The Bucks are currently five points outside the Blue Square Bet Premier relegation zone.
Read worked under Montserrat's then technical director Scott Cooper, who now works for the Leicester City Academy.
"I had played with Scott in America (for Fort Lauderdale Strikers). He'd kept tabs on my career after that, and suddenly he called me out of the blue to see if I was interested in working with him in Montserrat."
The island, which has an estimated population of around 5,140, might not attract much footballing notice, but Read insisted that does not mean there are not good players there.
Former Football League strikers Junior Mendes and Tes Bramble were both capped by the nation during his stint.
"There's some good talent, but it gets bypassed. Life and football are less structured, whereas here we're more methodical and I think players trying to make their way there can fall down," he continued.
