When you returned for your second spell with Carlisle, in early 2022, the club sat 91st in the Football League. Could you have imagined, 18 months on, you’d be preparing for a League One campaign?
No. The very prospect seemed crazy, though I have to say that after staying up in 2021-22 with games to spare, we didn’t head into last season intending to just keep our heads above water. Realistically, I thought promotion was achievable by the end of my three-year deal, so it’s come earlier than expected. I’ve learnt in football that if a chance presents itself, you have to take it – my players grabbed it with both hands.
It’s rare for a boss to enjoy success at his hometown club. Does it mean more, being Carlisle born and bred?
Yes it does, in the sense that it affects my immediate family and friends. At any club you’ll see familiar faces in the crowd, but at Brunton Park I’ll regularly spot neighbours or people I went to school with and it’s a different feeling. Mind you, so many have come up to me claiming they were in my class at Morton Secondary School, there must have been about 300 pupils in it! Over the years, I’ve learnt that you have to enjoy any success you achieve because there are plenty of lows in this game. It’s been a great experience returning to Carlisle and feeling the buzz around the place. At times, with the supporters flocking back, matchdays have brought memories flooding back of my playing days at Manchester City and Derby.
You sealed back-to-back promotions from the Conference to League One during your first Carlisle spell, then joined Preston and almost led them to the Premier League in 2006-07…
Esta historia es de la edición September 2023 de FourFourTwo UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 2023 de FourFourTwo UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
How Liverpool have changed under new manager Arne Slot
The Reds have had to adapt to life without their legendary boss Jurgen Klopp, But their new managers tactical tweaks showed highly promising early signs
Why Cole Palmer is an absolute genius on a football pitch
Chelsea’s attacking star attracts plenty of mirth for his interviews, but he often displays unrivalled intelligence in the heat of Premier League action
CORINTHIANS X SENNA 2018-19
Kit connoisseur Phil Delves looks back at an ultimate 'collab shirt' from South America - one that heralded a black and gold craze
"THE MISSILE SIRENS WOULD START DURING TRAINING, SO WE'D HAVE TO GO INSIDE AND TAKE COVER"
The Welsh international striker recalls growing up in Africa, humiliation at Derby and air strikes in Israel, not to mention a certain hat-tricks record...
"I SWAPPED SHIRTS WITH ETO'O AFTER MY DEBUT HE PROBABLY USED MINE ON HIS WINDOWS"
The lifelong Magpie opens up about earning Sir Bobby’s trust, his new career in the Middle East, and how Ruud van Nistelrooy knew I wanted to kick him”
"SVEN GOT IN TOUCH TO SEE IF I'D BE KEEN ON PLAYING FOR ENGLAND THAT MADE ME SO PROUD"
The former Italian shot-stopper tells FourFourTwo about following in his father’s footsteps at Milan and the game that changed Chelsea forever...
Why Thomas Tuchel is the perfect fit for the England job
The new gaffer might not have been born and bred in Barnsley, but he’s long proved himself to be particularly astute in high-profile knockout competitions
GREEN SHOOTS
Less than two years ago, Saint-Etienne were at real risk of relegation to the semi-professional third tier - unthinkable for a club who were the finest in France throughout the 1960s and '70s. Now Les Verts are back in the big time following last term's Ligue 2 play-off success. Oh, and they're also billionaires...
Why I love Scottish football
The legendary goal-getter recounts his strangest tales, featuring Graeme Souness punch-ups, broken sofas, Duncan Ferguson's errant pigeon and, of course, Gazza...
A MATCH WITH THE MONKS THE GREATEST COMPETITION PRIZE EVER
A globe-trotting FourFourTwo has gone beyond even Tanzania’s borders this month. American fan Matthew Eide of the Far Away Football blog ventured to equally mountainous Bhutan, after winning the most unusual of raffles...