Sports Awards: Colin Rahmatalla guides Stoke Town Ladies to more success
COLIN Rahmatalla may have a Jose Mourinho-esque knack for winning trophies, but that is just about where the comparisons end.
Rahmatalla, whose Stoke Town Ladies side have just added the county cup to their mountainous collection of silverware, says he now wants to make sure it is the girls who get the limelight.
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TOP MAN: Colin Rahmatalla has lead Stoke Town Ladies to a host of trophies and an enviable unbeaten record over the years he has been with the club.
Admittedly, it may be difficult to imagine Mourinho fixing blocked drains around Madrid between winning Champions League matches too, but how he would be jealous of Stoke's unbeaten record.
It was more than 160 when they last hauled out an abacus to tot up how many games the ladies of Trentham Fields have gone without defeat, and manager Rahmatalla has now lost count.
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"It must be more than 300 now," he said, as Stoke close in on another league title and league cup.
Rahmatalla, known as "Jock", started coaching Stoke about seven years ago when his daughter, Charlotte, wanted to take up the game.
He stayed on when she decided football wasn't for her 12 months later and Stoke have been racking up the accolades ever since.
Their first trophy of this season was the Staffordshire Girls Under-16s Cup, which captain Daniella Windsor lifted at Rocester on Tuesday.
Abbie Middleton scored her 32nd of the season just before half-time to help Town see off Rugeley Rangers 1-0.
They could switch focus to the Staffordshire County League now, but with three games left and 15 points clear of the only team who can catch them – Red Street Kestrels, who do at least have three games in hand – the title would appear to be nearly in the bag already.
They are in the semi-finals of the League Cup, where they will take on either Rugeley or Burntwood Phoenix.
Then it will be on to defending their summer titles in competitions in Keele, Warrington, Sandbach and Market Drayton.
Rahmatalla said: "They didn't have a manager or coach when I first arrived and I'd just done my FA coaching badges so it made sense to have a go.
"It's not about me, it's about the girls. I just give them a chance to play and push them as far as they can go.
"We've got 15 girls with terrific attitudes and they still love playing football and being challenged."
Rahmatalla has been nominated as Coach of the Year in The Sentinel/City of Stoke-on-Trent Sports Personality of the Year awards by his wife Lorraine Davenhill.
Lorraine said: "Colin has worked hard to encourage the girls, taking time away from his own family not only when the league starts, but also the tournaments around Staffordshire when the football season has finished
"The girls love to play all year round. It makes the team spirit stronger and in return helps keep them playing to such a high standard."
PETER SMITH
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