Ngandu’s re-writing history!

By Hugo Varley
There was a moment of history last Wednesday as Leyton Athletic secured their first ever FA Cup victory since the club underwent a rebranding over the summer.
The team, who were formally known as Wadham Lodge, are managed by Jason Ngandu, who at the age of just 25 is one of the youngest managers in Non-League.
“I’ve read somewhere that I might be the youngest manager left in the FA Cup already!” Ngandu told The NLP.
“I am delighted with how the team played on Wednesday though.
“It was my first FA Cup match so I am still undefeated in the competition; there are not many managers who can say they are undefeated in the FA Cup!” joked the Leyton boss.
Ngandu has built a squad full of talented players, who like their manager, have many years in the game ahead of them
“We had eight teenagers in the squad on Wednesday and our current oldest player is just 23 years old.
“Our plan is to develop the players we have here and help them to progress to a higher level in the future” said Ngandu.
The young coach’s journey into management at the Walthamstow based club is an interesting tale and is testament to his passion and commitment for the game.
“It all started when I was 19 years old and West Ham took me on as a trainee coach” explains Ngandu.
“I had been there for about 18 months when I was offered a phenomenal chance to become Head of Recruitment at Dagenham & Redbridge, who were in League Two at the time.
“It was an absolutely incredible experience and I made a lot of friends at Dagenham.
“I had to let go of a few things to work at Dagenham because my schedule was getting extremely hectic. I was still playing football semi-professionally, was doing athletics competitively and was studying sports journalism at university.”
“I wanted to continue with my studies so combined my final year at university with my first year at Dagenham.”
After Dagenham’s academy folded in 2016, Ngandu made a brief return to playing before being struck down with injury.
“I had always been pretty injury prone and when I picked up another injury soon after returning I began to think about other options.
“My friend from Dagenham, Marc Farrell was offered the manager’s job at Wadham Lodge as they were known then and asked me to come along to help him.
“After a few months Marc decided to move on and I was suddenly offered the job. It was something I had never expected to happen but it was an opportunity that I just couldn’t turn down.”
The former East Thurrock player admits to being slightly daunted by his new role at first but explains how he took inspiration from his father.
“Some of the players in the dressing room where older than me so the first team talk I gave was a bit nerve wracking…actually it wasn’t a bit, it was very nerve wracking!
“My Dad used to preach in front of thousands of people though and I can remember watching him speak to stadiums full of people. After thinking about that I soon realised that speaking in front of a group of 15 or 16 players wasn’t as daunting as what he had to do!”
Ngandu successfully guided The Wad army to safety in the Essex Senior League last season and he is hopeful that his side can push on during the new campaign.
“Our ambition is to improve every year and I am confident that we can do that this season” said the Leyton boss.
“We’ve got Great Wakering Rovers in the next round, which will be a tough game for sure. They won the Essex Senior League pretty convincingly last season but we are certainly capable of springing a surprise.”
When speaking to Ngandu, his enthusiasm for both Leyton Athletic and his future in management becomes immediately clear.
With a 10 or even 20 year head start on most managers in the game, Jason Ngandu could certainly be a name to remember in the years to come.