"I got told I'd never make it when I was 16," recalls the new Scunthorpe United manager, a veteran of 19 years and over 600 appearances in the professional game.
"But I've always been spurred on by stuff like that.
I remember when Darren Ferguson took over at Doncaster, the first thing he said to me was 'I don't think you'll be able to play in my team'.
"It wasn't psychology, either. He's not someone who minces words. I thought 'Right, we'll see'. I ended up starting nearly every game.
"People said I'd never play football at 40. I was still going last season. I was interim manager at Donny a couple of years ago and people said I'd never manage again after that. Well, here I am. It's not that I want to prove people wrong. I want to prove myself right."
By his own admission, though, Butler has required some help along the way. Paul Wilson, a tough-tackling fullback for Northampton and Burnley in his playing days, was the youth coach at Scunthorpe when Butler signed on as an apprentice in the late 90s.
"If it wasn't for him, my teachers would have been right," admits Butler. "I owe him everything. He's had that much of an influence on my life that I actually named my daughter Willow.
"I couldn't do ten kick-ups when I was given that apprenticeship. That's no exaggeration. But Paul pulled me by the arm, took me down to the corner of the stadium, and made me spend 45 minutes a day kicking a ball against the wall and practising kick-ups.
"He had us running round cricket boundaries, up hills, through forests. If you speak to any of the apprentices back then, they'll all remember how he whistled through his fingers. As soon as you heard that, you thought 'Oh no what does he know?'.
"He used to come into the changing rooms after training and say 'Alright, who was out at the weekend?'. He didn't know the answer but someone would inevitably crumble and then it would be 'Right, everyone back outside'.
Denne historien er fra May 19, 2024-utgaven av The Non-League Football Paper.
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Denne historien er fra May 19, 2024-utgaven av The Non-League Football Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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I'M READY FOR A NEW PROJECT
LEAGUE One, League Two, National League John Coleman doesn't care. He just wants to manage a club with scope for 'doing an Accrington'.
BEARNE'S DOUBLE IS A PITMEN TRIUMPH
HEDNESFORD Town marched on as this tie was settled in the first 21 minutes with a glut of goals in favour of the Pitmen.
STAG-DO SPOILED BY LIAM DOUBLE
AFC Totton and Basingstoke played out an entertaining draw at The Snows Stadium.
FOALLE'S THERE AT DEATH TO STEA IT!
A GOAL with almost the last kick of the game from Jack Foalle saw Ashton's unbeaten start to the season go up in smoke at Hurst Cross after they had hit the post in each half.
TUDORS STAY TOP THANKS TO AJAYI!
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD TOWN secured a crucial victory over Slough Town that solidifies their position at the top of National League South.
MOLS ON ROLL AS NASH GO SECOND!
CURZON ASHTON moved up to second place after doing a job on former boss Adam Lakeland and his King's Lynn Town side at the Walks.
REAL DEAL HEED KEEP PILING ON THE POINTS
GATESHEAD scored early in each half to strengthen their position at the top of the table after they stretched their unbeaten start to the season to seven games.
JOSH JOY DELIGHTS DAGGERS BOSS BEN
JOSH UMERAH marked his first league start for Dagenham & Redbridge by grabbing the goal that ensured a share of the spoils at Maidenhead.
DOGGED DALE WILL NOT BE MOVED!
ROCHDALE cruised to victory with a superb first-half performance which settled the age-old debate as Dale's immovable defensive object blunted Aldershot's previously irresistible attacking force.
SPITFIRES BACK IN THE GROOVE
EASTLEIGH bounced back from their last-gasp defeat at Gateshead last weekend as they edged past lowly Tamworth in a lackluster affair at the Silverlake.