CAPTAIN, LEADER, LEGEND!

WHEN Brackley Town captain Gaz Dean’s phone rang on the morning of April 8, the Saints had lost three in a row and hadn’t won in eight.

- Matt Badcock

It was a run which prompted the axing of boss Roger Johnson, who had taken over from legendary boss Kevin Wilkin earlier in the season.

The 17-game unbeaten run his reign started with couldn’t have felt further away. A title challenge was now a battle to stay in the playoffs.

Fast-forward a little over a month and Dean, who agreed to take the manager’s job until the end of the season, and Brackley have beaten Gloucester City and Chester in the play-offs to move one game from the National League.

Aged 33 and still feeling strong, management was a “million miles” from his mind. That morning the club’s FA Trophy-winning skipper confided in and got the blessing from people close to him, as well as made sure it was right for the group of players he loves so much.

“I suppose I’m in a unique position where I’ve been on the opposite side of the line in terms of when managers have made decisions I am the one who has to reinforce them in the changing rooms, or pick up the pieces if there are disappointed people out of teams or squads,” Dean, sidelined for the season with a quad injury, told The NLP.

Spirited