When he was appointed Director of Football at The J.Davidson Stadium at the end of August, Marc Tierney brought with him a wealth of experience from a playing career that embraced all four top divisions of English football as well as the National League.

So, five months on, how are things panning out and how is he finding working alongside manager Phil Parkinson and his assistant Neil Sorvel? His phone never stops ringing and there aren't enough hours in the day, but he managed to spare Alty Press officer John Edwards a few minutes prior to kick-off against Eastleigh last Saturday to shed some light on a role that is becoming increasingly prevalent in the professional game.

It has been an eventful season so far, Marc, how easy has it been to settle in and implement some of your ideas?

From watching some of the pre-season games right up to today, it has been brilliant. I'm really happy with how things have gone so far. The idea was for me to come in, draw on all the experience I gained from playing in all four divisions, including the Premier League, and use it to drive on the professionalism that already existed at the club by working with the chairmen, the board and chief executive right through to Phil and Sorvs.

I know Sorvs from my time at Shrewsbury Town and, being local, I know the football they like to play, and here we are now in contention for the play-off places. In the process, we've been blooding youngsters and building great contacts locally, which has enabled us to bring in loan signings like Charlie Olson and, more recently, Kacper Pasiek and Kian Taylor.

I was really pleased to get the extension done with Charlie, because he had League clubs in for him and it shows how strong we are that he chose to remain with us for the rest of the season. We are also in talks with both City and United to hopefully get some really good traction with them.

We'll come on to City and United shortly, but first can I ask you specifically about the Director of Football role and why it has become increasingly commonplace in recent years?

It always used to be a case of managers having to go straight to the chairman themselves to seek answers or sort things out, but, as happens in football and all walks of life, things develop, and more and more clubs are seeing the necessity of having a link between the two.

I work really well with Phil and Sorvs on what the squad might need, and I work really well with the board on what can be worked out and delivered. They have all been excellent with me so far.

The way it goes is that I'll chat with Phil and Sorvs and then get round the table with the board to consider finance and budgeting, which is obviously so important for the stability of the club and achieving our aims.

It's a position that is here to stay and one that suits my attributes because I feel I have an extensive knowledge of football and also the business side of things.

So, you will feed budget details to Phil so that he will  know where he stands in terms of which players he can go for?

Yes, and that is hugely important. I feel I've got a great relationship with Phil. He has been here virtually eight years and has had it all to do himself. He's got enough on his plate dealing with the players, selecting the team and getting the best out of them. He has done all that brilliantly, but it's good that he can concentrate on that alone.

That's the discussion we had at the outset. It was the start of the season and the first time we had met, and it was soon obvious we both wanted what was best for the club. We both put our cards on the table, and it turned out to be a great meeting.

We're also perfectly aligned over the style of football we like to see the team play, and that is such a positive when it comes to dealing with other clubs, as is the fact that Phil is such a great coach.

It lends itself to top young players being allowed to join us, and it's proving a successful formula, with the dream of reaching the Football League becoming ever more realistic. That would be great for everyone, particularly Phil if he could get us over the line after everything he has done already.

So, one of the main objectives of a Director of Football is to ease the workload on the manager?

Absolutely. Allowing Phil to concentrate on team selection, training, coaching, etc, is a huge part of my input. When it comes to recruitment, I will be very much ears open to what Phil wants, though I have my own contacts at different clubs and might suggest a few of my own ideas.

We talk them over and work collaboratively to arrive at the best solution and get the best players in, and it has been working well. So far, so good.

In a nutshell, it's to let Phil coach, to let his assistant coach, to let them get on with things on the pitch and take all that noise out of the way. Really, to make it a lighter workload, because it really is a full-time job.

It is for me, too. My phone is never off. It could be any hour of the day or night, and there's always likely to be a call or message coming through.

But I don't mind that if it means Phil is able to concentrate on the lads and the system we are playing. He is very thorough about every aspect of the job. He is always looking at videos with Sorvs and Jack, the head analyst.

They are always researching teams and how they are likely to set up against us, so there is more than enough for them to be getting on with. They don't need to be worrying about budgeting and the negotiating side of things, which I'm more than happy to take care of with the expertise I've got.

Player contracts as well. I'll work with the board and chairmen to sort those out and make sure we tie down our valuable assets. See if we can nick a diamond from somewhere as well, as we have done in the past.

The likes of Lucas Weaver and Owen German are a case in point. Owen is back with us after a great loan spell with Witton Albion, while the plan with Lucas was to send him out on loan and slowly build him up. He has come back and really hit the ground running - he's absolutely on fire.

You will be aware that it hasn't always been sweetness and light at clubs who have brought in a Director of Football. We've all seen tales of friction creeping in, so how important is it that you get on with the manager?

It's 100 per cent the case. It's important you don't just talk but listen as well, because you are right in there between the chairmen and board and the manager. If there is one thing I know about, it's football, it's training ground stuff, it's managerial insight that I know I can feed back to the board in the correct manner. Why the team might benefit from one thing or why we might be able to do without something else.

You said, in your first meeting with Phil, you both put your cards on the table - can you tell us any more about that?

Phil is used to talking to players across the table, and suddenly here he is talking to a Director of Football who is new to him. One of the main points I put across to him was to allay any fears that I want to be the manager.

I want to make it absolutely clear, as I did back then, how happy I am with the job Phil is doing, the way he is coaching the players and the way the team are playing. I want to help him be the best coach he can be and help the players reach the level I got to, if I can.

I played in this league on loan for Carlisle United, and if I ended up in the Premier League due to sacrifice and hard work, with a little bit of skill thrown in, I'm happy to pass on the nuggets I picked up along the way.

Professionalism is something we all want at the club, and I want to implement things that will add to that, a different way of looking at things that maybe haven't been explored before. So many things have gone really well here, so it's a case of keeping them and maybe adding some new ways of working that can enhance the club.

These are the things we chatted about, and really it was a frank and open discussion. Trust is huge in the game, and I think we have built that with each other over the past few months. That comes across with the deals we are doing to get lads in, like the two recent ones from Preston, and also the key one we did to get Regan Linney's name on a new contract.

One of the first deals I did when I arrived was to tie Regan down. It had been talked about, and I was really pleased to get the signature done. We secured his goals and secured his value. Every player has a valuation. We're under no illusion about that, but it has to be met or nothing will happen.

If you don't tie them down to the right deal, they will leave for nothing, and the club won't be sustainable, so it's hugely important. They all want to play at a higher level, but that's fine. It matches our ambition as a club. We want young hungry players who are intent on bettering themselves.

There are clearly lots of strands to your job - is scouting one of them?

We use digital scouting tools, but I do physically go to games as well. My brother Paul was at Manchester United (and Alty!) and won promotion with Crewe, and I make use of him. I will go to games in person if we like the look of someone. I went to watch Lucas Weaver on a cold Tuesday night at Stalybridge and again at Radcliffe to make sure he is doing the right things.

You get a much bigger picture and better feel for a player if you are actually there. I make a point of getting there early, watching how the player in question warms up, how he integrates with his team-mates and how he finishes the game.

If he is subbed off, how did he react? What was his demeanour and attitude like? As well as his physical performance, his character and temperament matters 100 per cent if we are thinking of bringing him to our club. You have got to want to be here and want to dig in for the team. That is non-negotiable.

Loans can be a real positive, and we've had some really good ones, haven't we?

We have. Charlie Olson played for Blackburn under-21s against us and stood out. Phil really liked him, and it was a bit of a no-brainer taking him on. When it came to extending his loan, I knew there were a few League sides interested in him, but I spoke to the agent and his club and that helped to tilt it our way and ensure he stayed with us.