DICKS' ALL SET FOR A RETURN

WITH a nickname like "The Terminator", you would have thought Julian Dicks would be a perfect fit for the blood and thunder of Non-League - but the archetypal defensive hardman is looking for a place to call home.

- Hugo Varley

After leaving Watford alongside ex-West Ham United teammate Slaven Bilic last season, Dicks is seeking to go it alone in management - and he certainly isn't shying away from a challenge, wherever that may be.

"I made a name for myself as a player, reaching the very highest level.

Now I want to prove that I can do it in the dugout too," the 55-year-old told The NLP.

"The last few months have been a pretty frustrating experience in truth.

I've been putting my name in the hat, going to interviews and being told contrasting things.

"Some chairmen tell me I've got too much experience to be managing at their level, others say I don't have enough, I can't win! "It's funny, I retired from playing because of injury when I was young and I had absolutely no intention of going into coaching. I was bitter at having to pack it in at such an early age and took my aggression out on the game for a bit. But football's my life, it's all I've ever known. I'd be lost without it."

Disillusionment

Dicks' most recent footballing venture - an ill-fated tenure as assistant at notorious coach churners Watford - left a bitter taste in the mouth, breeding a sense of disillusionment with the sport's higher levels.