(Picture: Action Images via Reuters)
By Matt Badcock
WHEN Darren Kelly arrived at Hyde United at the back end of the 2015-16 season, it was the start of a huge restoration job.
Both for the Tigers, who were about to suffer their third relegation on the spin, and for Kelly, who was taking his third job in 12 months.
While Hyde had tumbled from Non-League's top table to Step 4 in the blink of an eye, the Northern Irishman had seen roles at Oldham Athletic and FC Halifax end after nine and ten games respectively.
In many ways, they were perfect for each other. Two weeks ago, the EVO-STIK North club reached the FA Cup first round proper for the first time since 1994.
The reward is a plum home tie with League One side MK Dons and the live TV spotlight that will shine a light – as well as bank them a cool £67,500 – on how Kelly, his staff and the, now, fan-owned club have turned things around.
“I came into the job on the back of three relegations and the place was doom and gloom,” says Kelly, who had an initial caretaker spell before applying for the job permanently last summer. “The key in starting was assembling a great backroom staff. We've got a fantastic physio, fantastic assistant, fantastic coaches – we all work so well together.
“That's the first thing. Then you can go and assess the league and what you need. Everyone knows I was sacked at Oldham, I believe I would have created the same thing, but you need time.
“When we first came in we knew we had to stabilise things and things would be rocky but, given the time, we could turn it around.
“We brought in the players we needed to compete and, a year later, you're looking at getting through five rounds of the FA Cup, we've lost one game in 24 – our stats from the end of December last season are absolutely fantastic.
“It all goes with giving managers time to go and build something. We've got a fantastic changing room, a great team spirit, the players fight for each other and so far, as it stands, everything is going well.”
Time has been crucial. Kelly and his staff – assistant Dave McGurk, coach Gaz Prendergast, physio Stef Todd and goalie coach Chris Shaw – all became full-time at the start of this season. It means they plan better, offer additional training for players and go about their work as professionally as possible while also overseeing the academy.
“We've got an infrastructure any pro club would be happy with,” Kelly says. “We have the analyst, we have the sports science. We do all the data of the players when they're playing and training. They wear the vests with the monitors in so we know how many miles they're running.
“Our head of recruitment scouts players and does reports on the opposition. We do everything I would have done at Oldham from a professional level – and that's in Step 4 football.
“I want to get back up there but I've got things to do here that give me the credit to get back up there. So far we've created an environment with a fantastic group of players, good people, who are hardworking with a fantastic team spirit. They can go anywhere they want.”
The 38-year-old points out that, being critical, they've only just scratched the surface and knows success is judged on trophies and promotions.
But he's confident things are moving in the right direction again for a club that reached the Pyramid's summit before a spectacular fall.
“What we have now is an environment that is happy, that's confident, thriving and has a lot of happy people,” he says. “The gates are up, we're right in the mix in the league and so far, as it stands at the moment, everything is rosy.
“When I'm building sides, as much as I'm looking to bring in a quality player, I won't have bad eggs. I remember reading Legacy about the All Blacks rugby team – one of their rules is about getting rid of the d*******s.
“I'm very big on that. I would not bring a player in if I think he'll be a bad influence in the changing room. I just won't go there. With every player I've signed, I've done my research on them. I put the time in.”
It's a work ethic that mirrors a never-say-die attitude he had in a playing career that started at Derry City and took in Carlisle United before playing in Non-League for York City, Garforth Town, Frickley Athletic and Scarborough Athletic. Tell him to run through a brick wall and he'd ask, how many times?
At the same time as playing he was a coach in York's centre of excellence and achieved the top Pro Licence coaching badge.
He felt the time had come for a new challenge and when Lee Johnson left Oldham for Barnsley in 2015, he applied for the job.
It was a long process and by the time Kelly was appointed in the summer he'd been headhunted for a role in Sunderland's Academy. While it wasn't in his personal five-year plan, the chance to manage in League One couldn't be turned down.
It was a chastening experience. Within nine games he'd been shown the door.
Less than a month later he was in charge at FC Halifax but after ten games he decided to walk away. For Kelly, it's all about using it positively.
“I've gained fantastic experience,” he says. “Oldham – it was the only interview I had and I got the job. I had no experience in terms of what questions they'd ask. I didn't know what to ask myself. I look at that as a downfall. I should have been able to say, ‘Do I have a say on players, can I do this, can I do that?'
“I didn't ask any of that to the point I didn't have any of it. I didn't get a say on any of it. Then at Halifax, again the restrictions and being able to do things – for example you're training at Rothwell at 3pm on a Tuesday and Thursday but six players are working 9-5pm and don't train. I just said I couldn't do it and walked away.
“So the experience of that means I'll ask a lot of questions if I get the opportunity for a Football League job again, which will make me stronger and better.”
#FACup TV games…
???? @HydeUnited vs. MK Dons – Nov 3rd
???? @SLAquaFC vs. Mansfield – Nov 4th
???? @ChorleyFC vs. Fleetwood – Nov 6th pic.twitter.com/S2rg4tU1jg
— The Non-League Paper (@NonLeaguePaper) October 19, 2017
Kelly says he wouldn't change his start on the managerial ladder and hasn't had his enthusiasm knocked by it.
“It's all experience I will use going forward,” he says. “The things I've learned from my last two jobs will only hold me in good stead. But I haven't changed my methods.
“At Oldham I was very hands on. I'm OCD with it. I like things done. I hate bad timekeeping, I hate bad professionalism. You come and see our boys operate; they are as professional as they can be.
“They look after themselves, they eat well, they do the right things. Training is prepared properly. We know the numbers and we plan around it. We do our shape, our set-pieces, our work on the opposition.”
MK Dons will have to overcome their tricky, and revitalised, opponents – manager and team – who found each other at the right time.
“I thought it would be good for me,” he says. “When I finished my Pro Licence, my plan was to start at a low level club and work my way up.
“The Oldham job came up way ahead of my time, but I still maintain, given time, I would have turned it around.
“But in terms of my five-year plan, that was nowhere in there. My plan was to start at the bottom and work my way up. At Hyde I'm being given the time and the reassurances and I believe we're starting to show what we're about.
“The thing about it, in terms of performances, we've only scratched the surface. We're doing well and sitting in seventh position – one point outside the play-off places with five games in hand. So we're on the right path.”
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper, which is available every Sunday.
