ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rowdies have a former player who is calling the shots for everything the team does during games and training sessions -- and no, we're not talking about Neill Collins.
Unfortunately, that ship has sailed for a couple of weeks now after the now-former head coach departed the club to begin his European managerial career with English League One side Barnsley FC.
But not all is bad in Tampa Bay after the team announced its new head coach Nicky Law, who also happens to be a former player for the team.
He got off to the best possible start with the Rowdies after a dominant 3-0 win over FC Tulsa on Saturday night at Al Lang Stadium. That game saw all goals come in the second half thanks to defender Forrest Lasso, midfielder Charlie Dennis and striker J.J. Williams.
"The message at halftime was kind of just to speed things up and play with a little more tempo," Law said during his first news conference as the Rowdies' head coach. "As the [second] half went on, we did have a lot of the ball and we did tire [Tulsa] out. Obviously, I would just like to have a little more pace and tempo in [the game]."
Law signed a contract to lead the team until the end of the current 2023 season, but this isn't his first rodeo with the club.
Halfway through last season, Tampa Bay signed Law via trade with Indy Eleven, a move that also saw homegrown player Juan Tejada leave the team.
Law proved to be an influential player for the Rowdies as he established himself as a starter for the remainder of the season and helped the team reach the Eastern Conference final for a third consecutive year.
However, in the offseason, Law and Tampa Bay agreed to part ways for him to become a player-coach for MLS Next Pro expansion side Huntsville.
Now that he's back at Al Lang Stadium, Law admitted that the first training practices felt odd as he was still friends with most of the players on the roster and wore the green and yellow jersey at this point last year.
He'd only had a few training sessions with the team before they played against Tulsa, but the support of the entire club is helping him settle into his new position.
"These guys have had a hell of a two weeks and they've been great," Law said. "I have to thank the staff [because] they've been unbelievable this week with me and the help they've given me and the support has been phenomenal.
"I will remember it forever. I couldn't have asked for more from the players and staff."
Moving forward, the former Premier League player said he plans to not only keep the winning culture in Tampa Bay, but also the attractive, high-paced attacking style of soccer that fans became accustomed to when Collins was in charge.
Law added that playing under Collins has also convinced him to keep on playing a system with the Rowdies where offense always comes first.
"The second half kind of looked how I remember from my time [as a Rowdies player]," he said. "[We have to keep] dominating teams, [play at a] high tempo, attacking. That's how I want this team to look moving forward.
"Hopefully that gives them confidence and it'll give me confidence. I think that first [win] is huge and [I'm] just delighted to get it. I'm excited to see where we can go."
Saturday's win for the Rowdies was the first one since Collins' last game in charge.
The team now sits in third place of the USL Eastern Conference with 38 points, trailing second-place Charleston Battery who have 39 points with a game more played and leaders Pittsburgh Riverhound SC who have 41 points with two games more played.
This is what makes the next game for Law and Tampa Bay more important as the team is set to take on Pittsburgh on Saturday, Aug. 5.
Fans can catch their new head coach back at Al Lang Stadium on Aug. 12. For ticket information, click here.
