Tikka's Story

[Tikka Mezzala]

Welcome to my realistic FM career thread. 

Having spent a number of years in Sunday league football with various clubs around the East Dunbartonshire and North Lanarkshire regions, I decided to take up a voluntary position at Harestanes A.F.C. in the Caledonian Amateur Premier League. My initial duties were quite rudimentary: I set up some of the training exercises by laying down cones, moving the smaller sets of goals around to increase/decrease the pitch size, handing out coloured bibs to divvy up the teams etc. It was unglamourous work, often performed in the freezing cold nights under the floodlights at Merkland Playing Fields. 

What made it all worth it was the chance to get my foot on the bottom rung of the coaching ladder. I have no formal qualifications, so it was very much a case of knowing someone on the team who allowed me to come along and lend a hand. 

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I would quietly perform my tasks while listening and observing. The qualified coaches would explain the benefits of each session, and I would try and pick up as much knowledge as possible from them. The head coach was a middle-aged man who harked back to an earlier epoch in football's history. He was a sharp-mouthed disciplinarian who began his working life at the tail-end of Glasgow's industrial period. The subsequent deindustrialisation had left him neutered, and so barking orders from the sidelines of a football pitch was his way to reclaim his lost sense of Glaswegian masculinity. 

The team was quite successful in the amateur game, consistently competing in the top-tier. The prospect of opening up the amateur leagues to the larger football pyramid in the country had created an existential crisis for clubs like Harestanes. On one-hand, they were an amateur club that enjoyed a degree of prominence in the small pond they had grown up in; on the other-hand, there was an ambition to grow the club and challenge the more popular Kirkintilloch-based side Rob Roy, who played in the semi-professional West of Scotland Premier Division, several steps above Harestanes. 

As the 23-24 season loomed, the club departed with its long-serving manager due to health reasons. It was at this moment that opportunity beckoned. The club is run by a voluntary committee consisting of a chair, a treasurer, and a small group of "yes men" who have nothing better to do with their evenings. The outward image the committee likes to present is that it possesses a real commitment to local people, and prefers to promote from within rather than seeking outside appointments. The reality is that finding someone not already at the club requires work, and work is to be avoided when possible. This is the basic logic behind the club's appointment of me as the new manager. 

Upon accepting the role, albeit with a degree of hesitation and characteristic anxiety, the committee laid down the club's expectations for the coming campaign. I was to finish in the top four places of the league and go deep into the cup competitions. It was a challenging set of demands, and I was certainly not confident I would deliver. But I could show no signs of apprehension. 

I set about planning for the season ahead, knowing that it would be vital to hit the ground running. Some adverts went into the local paper in an appeal for players, and I brought in some friends to help me with the coaching side of things. 

As a natural shitebag, I planned to set the team up in a pretty no frills 442 shape:

Our defensive strategy would be to force teams down the outside and deal with crosses as best we could. Our offensive strategy was pretty much the inverse: we would attempt to cross the ball a lot and get on the end of things. 

Perhaps this approach seems extremely mundane and unambitious. It won't exactly get our six season ticket holders off their metaphorical seats (there are no seats at Merkland Playing Fields). But these are my first tentative steps in the industry, and there's naturally going to be some hesitation.

One thing that I demand of the players is a certain level of commitment and effort. That's the only non-negotiable really. I was, therefore, quite unhappy in the early weeks of our preseason as the players displayed a rather casual attitude towards training. 

Some water bottles were thrown, some harsh words were exchanged, and it's not clear I'm going to get what I want. The group I've inherited are a bunch of work-shy chancers. Moulding them into a hard-working unit would be difficult enough for a veteran coach, let alone a rookie. 

The preseason friendly results were a mixed bag. We were well beaten by Drumchapel, but were competitive in every other fixture. The final friendly against St. James was very promising, and the scoreline will have boosted morale heading into our opening match of the season. 

 

 

Manager Profile:

Name: Émile Hrádecký

Nationalities: Scottish/Czech (eligible for Irish and Slovakian passports)

Age: 30

Previous Roles: Balloch Eastfield (player); Kildrum United (player); Rosebank United (player); Rosebank Thistle (player); Celtic Community Academy (player); Harestanes (coach)

Qualifications: none

[Tikka Mezzala]

Preseason had given me a lot of food for thought. Three wins, four draws, and two defeats was nothing to be alarmed about, but I did feel we were playing a little bit within ourselves. 

There was certainly no need to go ripping things up and starting again, so for the last couple of friendlies I adjusted the tactics slightly.

We changed the dynamics of our wide play by having one of the wingers invert, while on the other side the defender would advance up the field a bit more in a wingback role. We also didn't have much luck with a target man, so we changed the relationship between the forwards to something a bit different. 

I asked the players to be less cautious, play with greater width and tempo, and to exploit the flanks more. The goalkeeper's distribution was also encouraged to be shorter, preferably to our fullbacks. 

The tactical changes led to an upturn in our performances in the final friendly matches, so I headed into the league campaign feeling a bit better about where the team was at. 

I said that I needed to hit the ground running in the job, and that's exactly what transpired. Built on a solid defensive foundation that is rooted in simple principles, we managed to win all of our games between late August and October. 

The good form of the team has allowed me to settle in to the job, with every win making me feel less like an impostor and more like a very decent amateur level coach. 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

The club committee acknowledged my fine start in the job and offered to pay for my first set of coaching badges:

I was touched, to say the least. This was a show of faith in me from the committee. They clearly believed that what they were witnessing on the pitch was evidence of my budding talent as a coach. We had swept aside all of our foes and demonstrated our credentials as title hopefuls. As Autumn gave way to the Scottish Winter, our red hot form did not fall by the wayside like the outside temperatures. 

It is certainly not unheard of in Scottish amateur football for one team to rise above the rest in spectacular fashion. But I had absolutely no idea that we would be the team to lay waste to all of our adversaries. I inherited a group of players who clearly contained a very strong core, and our additions over the summer months were contributing well. 

Every week there was a confidence in our demeanour and approach. We played like champions in waiting. It was as though the players knew they were destined for greater things and were impatiently swatting away the Caledonian Premier Division sides in a bid to reach the promised land of semi-professional football. 

The key now was to maintain our league form and get over the line as quickly as possible, while trying our best to ensure the knock-out cup games didn't faze us. The New Year would determine whether we had a good season or a great one, and I was super determined to ensure that my first year in management ended with a distinction. 

[Deisler26]

Great work!

[Tikka Mezzala]

As the New Year bells rang in the year of 2024, snow dusted the town of Kirkintilloch. Freezing though the temperatures were, the local media reports were enough to warm me up, as my name chimed like the Hogmanay bells throughout the pages of the Kirkintilloch Herald:

These positive reports would surely reach the eyes of prospective chairpersons across the West of Scotland pyramid. With my coaching badges underway, I was positioning myself as an up and comer within the Scottish non-league football circuit. Though I hadn't a pot to **** in, and would have to continue to live and work within a fairly narrow radius of Glasgow until a hefty enough salary freed me from my geographical confines, the only way was up! 

If my reputation was to continue growing, we'd have to make sure we had a good January. The month included some tough fixtures in the league and both cup competitions. 

What stands out from the first month of 2024 is our first loss of the season: a 2-4 defeat at home to Blantyre. We did avenge this result in the William Turner Challenge Cup, however. We also managed to proceed to the next round of the Scottish Cup (Amateur) thanks to a 2-1 win at home to NW Skye. Bookending these results were two league wins against Hurlford Thistle and Annbank Utd, ensuring that we remained in control of the title race. 

 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

It's been a while since I've been sat at home doing homework, but in order to attain my National C License, I've been forced to sit with the books out and clear the room of all distractions. Over a period of months, I've worked through theory and practice, honing my understanding of tactical and technical aspects of the coaching profession. Much of the work was reminiscent of my days observing from the sidelines, watching the more qualified coaches set up exercises and talk people through them. Despite the excellent results on the pitch with Harestanes, I didn't come through the C License as the top student. I was middle of the pack. But what matters is the ultimate outcome:

The completion of the C License course came amidst a busy February/March schedule, and the results on the pitch gave me another reason to celebrate:

A solid run of victories seen us claim five wins in five league matches, as well as advancement through to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup (amateur) and the final of the William Turner Challenge Cup. 

The latter would be decided in the final weekend of March, with Motherwell's Fir Park hosting the showpiece event. Having just beaten Strathaven Dynamos in the league, we headed into the Final with confidence high. It was the first opportunity in my career to lift a piece of silverware and add something substantive to my CV, along with the C License qualification. 

The news from the other cup competition we were competing in was that we'd have to head to the extreme north of Scotland for the semi-final of the Scottish Cup:

We were to face a Dingwall side that had already won their league, such was their consistent form. The travel alone would give us a major disadvantage, but the prospect of continuing our proud history in the competition was exciting. 

Turning our attention back to the William Turner Cup, despite our recent win over Strathaven, I felt nervous about the Final. This was the first test of this group of players in the high pressure environment of a cup final. Would the levels they've shown throughout the season be brought to the occasion, or would they crumble?

In the highlight of the season so far, the players delivered a top class performance in a high stakes game to bring us the season's first, but hopefully not the last, piece of silverware. It was a moment of jubilation, and somewhat of a relief. I was now following in the footsteps of previous Harestanes managers by delivering silverware. Any questions about my suitability were beginning to be answered. 

To add more good news, we now stood on the verge of the title. Fifteen points were left to play for, and the gap was thirteen between ourselves and Blantyre in second. That meant a win in April's opening fixtures at New Farm Loch would bring us trophy number two: the Caledonian Premier Division title! 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

With £10k banked from our William Turner Cup success, the Harestanes Club Committee decided that £600 would be put towards my coaching education: 

It was time to get the books out again and work towards the B License. That meant I had to moderate myself when the celebrations followed our next game against New Farm Loch:

A 1-5 win sealed the title for us with four games to spare, and ensured that we would end the season with at least a league and cup double. This was beyond my wildest dreams at the beginning of the season, but I was determined not to let the opportunity of a treble slip from our grasp. In order to do that, we would have to win our next game in the extreme north of Dingwall! 

In the most entertaining fixture of the season, heartbreak was the order of the day, as Dingwall maintained their impressive form across the season with a 5-4 win against us in the Scottish Cup semis. We travelled north with fire in our bellies, but ultimately came up short in an epic battle with the Highlanders. It was a gutting moment for myself and the players, who had tasted nothing but success prior to the defeat. 

The games remaining in the season were dead rubbers by all accounts, but our professionalism and consistency shone through as we rounded things off with four straight wins. This ensured that we would finish the season with more than one-hundred goals to our name, and a single defeat. 

It's sad to say it, but despite our remarkable season, two games will linger in my memory: the defeats to Blantyre and Dingwall. We could possibly have won every single game across all competitions had we won those matches, and the fact that we came so close to such an unlikely record wrangles a bit. I know I shouldn't complain, but I'm a perfectionist and we fell short of perfection. 

The more rational part of me recognises the accomplishments for what they were: outstanding. We won 29 out of 30 league games, scored over one-hundred league goals, won the William Turner Cup, and made the semis of the Scottish Cup. That's a fantastic season by any standards. 

These are the stats for some of our signings across the season. As you can see, massive contributions were made by the new boys. Jamie Kirkpatrick and Evan Cunningham formed a formidable partnership up front, and Dylan Kerr and Harry Emmerson supplied them consistently from the wings. My simple offensive strategy of getting it out wide and hoping our strikers would be alert in the box paid off big time. It was nothing fancy, but bloody effective! 

 

[Deisler26]

Absolute Dingwalls 

[leobiazzi]

Congratulations!

[Tikka Mezzala]

The 2024/25 season would see the introduction of a promotion/relegation mechanism between the semi-professional and amateur structures. This would involve a playoff between the winners of regional premier divisions. With our record last season, we were clear favourites to leave behind the amateur game and move up the pyramid, but this level of football can throw up many surprises. 

If we were to continue our progress we would need to try and hold on to our players. That wouldn't be easy due to our amateur status, with players pretty much only held by us on a voluntary basis. Anyone could walk away at any time. With some of the numbers our players were hitting last season, there would be interest from the semi-pro outfits above us. My best pitch to keep them would be: give it a year and we'll be playing at a higher level too! 

During the course of the summer, my second set of coaching badges were earned. With the extra time on my hands due to the break, I did quite well on the course. My confidence as a coach was growing, and I was now qualified to the level of most of my contemporaries. Unfortunately, the club committee didn't see it being in their interest to help me further my development:

This led to the first bit of tension between myself and the committee. Their selfish reasoning was not well-received on my part, as I had always been pretty clear about my ambitions to grow as a coach and move on to better things when I started along my education pathway. 

Despite the personal setback, I had to focus on preparing the team for the new season. My approach was simple: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I, therefore, prioritised keeping things as close to last season as I could. Our training regimes, our tactical approach, and hopefully our personnel would be brought over from the previous campaign. We just had to keep going in the same direction and hopefully we could take Harestanes to a higher level. 

Our preseason form had been outstanding, carrying over from last year. This gave me a lot of encouragement. We were about to start the league season and we hadn't lost any of our players. The main reason for that was simply convenience: most players didn't want to travel far to train, and so staying put was easier for them at this moment. The risk remained that a more local side from higher up the divisions might tempt some of them, but so far that hadn't happened. 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

With twelve months of management behind me and a couple of coaching badges, there was the temptation to start introducing complexity into our overall approach. I had picked up some tactical insights from my education that were exciting, and I was eager to try them, but I decided to play it sensibly. Our very basic 442 system had proven to be effective with this group of players, and one thing you have to learn as a coach is that if something works well, let it play out. 

After a terrific preseason we carried our form into the competitive action, winning all but one game across August, September and October. The one game we didn't win was a 0-0 draw at home to Hurlford Thistle, a game that marked the first time the team had failed to score under my leadership. Thankfully, it was the exception rather than the rule as we found goals easy enough to come by generally. Our defence was also looking good, with only four goals conceded across ten games in all competitions. 

The early running highlighted Blantyre and Milton as our main challengers. The former in particular were proving to be a threat to our dominance, having finished in second place last season, and outscoring us in the opening nine games. We enjoyed an early three point lead over the chasing pack, and had beaten Milton comfortably at home in early October, but I was taking nothing for granted. This would be a more challenging season than my first. 

[Deisler26]

Take the first higher job that comes. You won't better yourself here

[Tikka Mezzala]

4 minutes ago, Deisler26 said:

Take the first higher job that comes. You won't better yourself here

I'm open to offers. I just either need a job within the Greater Glasgow area or surrounding districts (for travel reasons), or a salaried role that would financially support resettlement. I think the latter will be unlikely for a year or two yet. 

[Tikka Mezzala]

After some negotiation and, admittedly, some stroppiness on my part, the Harestanes Club Committee agreed to fund the continuation of my studies:

In four months time I would surely be qualified enough to start looking up into the semi-professional leagues, with a view to inching closer to the dream of full-time employment.

The coaching courses were also an opportunity to network and get my name circulating. I didn't have the money to sign up with an agency, and so I had to generate my own interest and forge my reputation without much assistance. The local papers would occasionally talk me up after a big result or winning streak, but only the residents of Kirkintilloch, Kilsyth, and Cumbernauld would hear about it. 

As part of operation Big Me Up, I created online bios on different websites to try and drum up some interest. I had to oversell myself a little, but I was happy with the outcome. Being able to talk about last season's achievements filled me with a sense of pride. 

Turning back to this season, we had an excellent Autumn/early Winter period. 

A clean sweep of wins in November, including a win at our closest challengers Blantyre, left us sitting pretty at the top. Our cushion softened the blow of dropped points at Oban in December's opener, but we finished 2024 strongly with three wins. 

With eighteen games played, we enjoyed a six point advantage over Blantyre in second. We were well on course for the title and promotion playoff, and still had our skin in the game in both cup competitions, which would resume in January. 

 

[Constantine]

If you don't end up at St. Pauli at some point, I'll be (mildly) disappointed.

[Rick87]

Just read through this, great start to your glorious and realistic rise through the ranks comrade.

I enjoy a realistic career.

[Tikka Mezzala]

My efforts to get my name out there weren't proving to be very effective. But my players had no trouble drumming up interest:

First to leave was our captain, Ruaridh Edwards. A stalwart at the heart of our defence, it was a major blow to lose his presence in the team. He was followed by Brett Galvin, one of our two central midfield starters. He joined Highland League outfit Rothes, earning himself a little bit of money in the process. 

Thankfully, these were the only January departures. But it wasn't for a lack of interest in others. 

On the pitch, a familiar story played out: we marched through January and February in imperious form, claiming back to back 1-7 wins in both cup competitions. February also witnessed cup progression, along with a further six league points. 2025 was gearing up to be a really good year for the club. 

It was also proving to be a good year on a personal level. Having achieved my National A License, finishing top of the class, I was now qualified enough to start putting my hat in the ring for paid roles. I was at the point in my life where I had to decide how serious I was about all of this, and the only way I would truly know whether I was cut out for the proper stuff would be to give it a go! 

March brought us another clean sweep of victories, and also brought us our first piece of silverware of the season: the William Turner Challenge Cup. This was our second consecutive triumph in the competition, and I'm sure whoever William Turner is, he's proud of us. We also had to come through three consecutive meetings with our closest challengers, Blantyre. The first was in the WTC Cup, the second helped us make the Scottish Cup final, and the third all but sealed our second title in as many years. 

With our run of wins in March, we knew that an invincible treble was on the line across April/May. We were a few wins away from winning the league title, in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup, and had yet to taste defeat in any competition. 

April's first game saw us thump Bannockburn in the Scottish Cup, booking our date with destiny at Hampden Park - my first visit to the national stadium as a manager. We also wrapped up the league title against Dirrans Athletic, and ran through the rest of the league campaign unbeaten. The biggest setback was our penalty shoot-out defeat in the Scottish Cup final to Braehead. Our opponents were the holders of the competition and completed back-to-back triumphs by beating us in the shootout. 

Our season was not done yet, however. Our triumph in the Caledonian Premier Division brought us to the promotion/relegation playoff where we would meet Easterhouse Academy from the West of Scotland Fourth Division. 

A 1-3 win in Easterhouse was followed by a 4-1 win in Kirkintilloch as we easily dispatched of the east-enders in the playoff. The win gave me some encouragement about our ability to make the step up to the West of Scotland Football League structure. 

Our promotion brought with it a significant change:

I, myself, was given a new one-year deal, although I could not get the committee to agree to a part-time salary. Instead, they offered to fund my next set of coaching badges. I agreed to the deal, and headed off for the summer to rest and recuperate ahead of the first season of semi-professional football in the club's history. 

[Rick87]

Congratulations on your double. I know you aren't looking to stay as a one-club manager, but how high is it possible to promote? Is there a glass ceiling between the Juniors and semi-pro leagues as in real life?

[Tikka Mezzala]

3 minutes ago, Rick87 said:

Congratulations on your double. I know you aren't looking to stay as a one-club manager, but how high is it possible to promote? Is there a glass ceiling between the Juniors and semi-pro leagues as in real life?

In real life, the amateur leagues are not connected with the semi-professional structure. So the West of Scotland Fourth Division, which I have just been promoted to, is the basement of the pyramid for teams in my region. There are also adjacent leagues in the different regions, such as the East of Scotland, the Midlands, the Highlands etc. They all have their own structures, feeding into the Lowland/Highland leagues. 

In this database, it's possible to go from the very bottom of the amateur leagues to the Scottish Premiership. So there are no glass ceilings. 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

As the summer recess took hold, I decided to keep tabs on the comings and goings at different clubs across the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Ideally, I was looking to earn a little bit of money while I worked, given my loss of earnings from having to dedicate so many hours every week to managing Harestanes. I wasn't totally against staying put for now, but if the right opportunity presented itself, I had to try and get myself up the ladder. 

It wasn't long before I had my first sit-down with a potential employer:

As a massive Celtic fan, the possibility of working at St. Roch's appealed to me. The club's history is intertwined with my boyhood team, and they even wear the same colours as Celtic. 

St Roch's currently play in the West of Scotland First Division, so it would be a step up of three divisions for me. It would also mean I was managing just three divisions below the SPFL structure. I attended the meeting and presented my case to the club chairperson. Everything seemed to go well, and it was a matter of waiting to hear back from them about their final decision. 

Around a week after our meeting, I got the phone call from St. Roch's asking me to make the move to James McGrory Park. I didn't have to spend much time mulling things over; I was wanting to make the step up. 

The next day I headed to the North-East of Glasgow to finalise talks. I managed to negotiate an £80 p/w wage on a twelve month deal. Everything was signed off and I said my farewells to my previous employers. 

St Roch's had finished middle of the pack the previous season, and the expectation was that they'd do likewise next season. It was a squad going through a transition, with several players departing along with the previous manager. My job was to use my contacts in the game to assemble a playing staff capable of meeting our expectations. 

The first place I would look, of course, would be Harestanes. I was particularly interested in bringing the right-back and both wingers to the club. I had been assured that the strikers at St. Roch's were up to scratch, so even though I had two incredible forwards at Harestanes, I would hold off on changing things up front. Unfortunately, I was hamstrung by the wage limits at the club, and my attempts to bring anyone from Harestanes crashed upon the rocks of financial reality. None of my ex-players were willing to accept a measly playing fee of £75, our upper limit, when there were better offers on the table. 

It was clear I was going to have to dig deep to find players, but where? The only solution was to host a trial day and hope that enough talent showed up to help us put something of a squad together. Whether that squad would then be good enough to meet the mid-table expectations set for next season was anyone's guess. 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

If it wasn't clear to me upon taking over just how much St. Roch's meant to their local community and supporters, it soon became abundantly clear. One of my first duties was to meet with the supporters in a club membership forum. I learned about the massive input from the fans who had helped create and maintain the stadium, as well as the incredible charitable work they performed. This wasn't your typical non-league club; it was a place of belonging and identity. 

I had the chance to talk about my work at Harestanes and how I hoped to bring a winning mentality to the team, but I was honest with everyone and asked for patience. Rebuilds were tough at the best of times, and with very little money to spare, it would be even tougher bringing the squad up to scratch. 

The meet and greet was a highly positive experience, and from day one I felt like I had been accepted into the St. Roch's community. This gave me a tremendous sense of determination to bring success to these people. 

The meet and greet was followed by a small media day, where the club's social media guy asked me a few questions for their Facebook and Twitter accounts, and then someone from the local paper arrived to get some quotes for the back pages. 

Shortly after all the hand-shaking and photography, preseason training began. We didn't have enough players in the first team to do much, so we had to ask some of the development players to join us. While it would be difficult to know how to set the team up without knowing exactly who we would have in each position, I decided that the best thing to do would be to plan for my 442 system that brought me success with Harestanes. There was no point re-inventing the wheel until I knew how it would fare in the higher divisions. 

In the first week of preseason we learned our opponents in the Junior Cup:

The Junior Cup was the big tournament at the semi-professional level in Scotland. In its halcyon days in the early 20th century, it pulled in large crowds of people, including 77,000 for the final in 1951. St Roch's had only won it once in 1922, where they beat Kilwinning Rangers at Firhill Stadium in front of 25,000 people. While the crowds had dwindled over the years, it is still a prestigious competition, with the final usually being televised on BBC Alba. I hoped to make an impression in the Junior Cup, but I knew my fate would ultimately rest on our league performances and results. 

Despite our struggles to recruit new players, the kids who had stepped in to fill the gaps delivered over preseason. We organised a schedule that revolved around playing teams from the amateur leagues in order to help us build up confidence and fitness, but we threw in a couple of fixtures against teams from the WoS pyramid to see how we'd fare, and we did quite well. 

On the signings front, we had only managed to convince one player to join us so far. 

Borislav Stoyanov had been a permanent fixture in my Harestanes midfield, and he was happy to trade Merkland for the James McGrory Stadium. I was delighted to welcome him to the club, but quite offended that many of his teammates had turned their noses up at me when I went back to Harestanes to try and bring them to the Candy Rock. 

With the competitive fixtures beginning in a week's time, it would be difficult competing with this group of players. We had around a month to try and add more bodies to the team to help us out, but it was so, so difficult with our budgetary constraints. 

 

[Rick87]

Good career progression, good luck in the competitive games. It's always tough recruiting at that kind of level, something I think the game struggles to simulate realistically. 

Anyway, hope you manage to find a winning formula on the shoestring and continue upward.

[Tikka Mezzala]

After four months of intense study, I was awarded my Continental C Licence from the Scottish SFA. The course was funded by Harestanes, who have been responsible for financially supporting me through all of my coaching education so far. So I was grateful to my former employers as I ticked off another set of badges. 

What my education couldn't teach me, however, was the best way to recruit players. It wasn't until the last weeks of August that some movement really started to happen, but we were still left quite short of numbers. 

The players I had brought in were reasonable for the level we're at, but I still felt unsure about whether we had the required quality to meet our expectations. Watching the players in training, I got the impression that there wasn't a great deal of difference between my Harestanes side and this one. Whether we would have to adjust our tactical set up remained to be seen. 

We started the season with a cup exit, losing on penalties to Irvine Meadow. We did, however, overcome WoS Premier Division side Glenafton in the Junior Cup. Despite progressing through two cup competitions in September, we still await our first win in the league after two draws and a 3-4 defeat at home to Kirkintilloch Rob Roy. 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

The Junior Cup wins had alleviated some of the pressure on my shoulders, but there was little doubt that our league form had to improve quickly. The situation was unfamiliar to me, as I had known nothing but consistency so far in my short career. How to manage a rocky period, and particularly how to identify whether the problem was tactical or simply a matter of players adjusting to a new regime were novel to me. Some of our performances were good, even in the games we didn't win. So I erred on the side of sticking rather than twisting. With each passing game the players would become more familiar with each other and the system, and the results would pick up. That was my theory and I was sticking to it. 

October was another difficult month. Two wins, three defeats, and a draw across all competitions left us with the same question marks over our heads. It was once again the Junior Cup where we excelled, beating one of the big boys of non-league football, Auchinleck Talbot, 5-0 at James McGrory Park. We also picked up our first league win against Irvine Meadow, but a defeat at the hands of one of our local rivals, Petershill, did nothing to convince the Candy Rock faithful that I was the man for the job. 

We put up a valiant fight against Lowland League Stirling University in the South Challenge Cup, but ultimately fell short. The battle of the non-league Celtics also went against us as a high-flying St. Anthony's beat us 1-2 on our own patch. 

My thinking at this moment was very cloudy. I recognised the results weren't great, but seeing us thump a team like Auchinleck Talbot 5-0 suggested there was a good team waiting to emerge. I considered some tweaks to the system, but I was limited by our personnel situation. We pretty much only had the players to play one way, and that way would have to succeed or else we were finished. 

My decision to hold off on any major changes was vindicated, as the Auchinleck win clearly injected some much needed confidence into the team. November started with four impressive wins, including a 1-6 win at Larkhall Thistle in the 'non-league Old Firm'. That game also marked a momentous moment in my career:

While we did drop some points towards the end of November, things were looking much brighter for us on the league front. Twelve points had been gained and we were beginning to build some positive momentum. The atmosphere around the dressing room and the community was much brighter, and I felt that a corner had been turned. 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

Having turned around a sticky situation in the early months of the season, it was imperative that we negotiated the winter months successfully. As pitches froze over and games got called off up and down the country, we had to be ready for anything the elements might throw at us. 

I was pleased with our training levels and had noticed that everything was running much more smoothly now that we had put some wins on the board in the league. It was beginning to feel like we had ironed out some of the creases in our transition period and were ready to truly discover our levels. My job was to keep everything ticking over, making sure the players had the platform to go out and perform. Everything had to be kept simple: our training regime, my tactical instructions, my interactions with the players - all of it had to be geared towards gently nudging the players in the right direction. 

December started with progression in two cup competitions. Our Junior Cup campaign was very much in full swing and we were consistently beating teams from higher divisions. This suggested that we might be good enough to play at a higher level, which bode well for our league campaign. 

While I wasn't too happy about our defensive record, we were scoring lots of goals, which helped us to win six of our eight league matches across December and January. It was impressive form that suggested we could very well be in the running for promotion come the Spring, but we would have to do without one of our starting centre-backs who was transferred to a Premier Division club late in the January window. That forced us to scramble at the last minute to find a replacement, but we would have to wait until the emergency window to try and find someone. In the mean time, we were forced to play a right-back at centre-back. Not ideal, to say the least. 

Our form had propelled us into the top three places, but it was a very tight race for promotion. Given that we still had interest in a couple of cup competitions, our thin squad would be stretched to its limits as it sought to compete on three fronts in the final months of the season. 

February did start with a piece of good news, however. Having impressed over November, December, and January, the St. Roch's committee felt I had earned enough trust to continue my work beyond the end of the season. I was presented with a new contract offer which I promptly accepted.

I was delighted to have a degree of certainty about my future beyond May. Back in September/October, I was still feeling unsure about whether I was cut out for this level. Having had some good months since then, and with this new contract agreed, I felt like a pretty decent non-league manager. 

February/March wasn't a great period for us in the league. We won two of our six games, and our make-shift defence was starting to really show its fragility. We did, however, make it to the semi-finals of two cup competitions: the Scottish Junior Cup, and the West of Scotland League Cup. 

With April/May approaching, everything would be decided in the Spring. Would we be able to win promotion to the Premier Division? Would we clinch a first Junior Cup since 1922? Would we win a first ever League Cup? It was all on the line. 

[Tikka Mezzala]

Everything had come down to the final weeks of the season. Nine teams were still mathematically in the running for promotion, but six were considered to be front runners. We had played a game more than everyone at the beginning of April, and we were the only team involved in the run-in who had to worry about two cup semi-finals. 

Let's begin with those semi-finals:

The Junior Cup semis were decided by a two-legged tie. We had to face Dundee North End, who were unbeaten in the Scottish Midlands Premier Division. They were favourites for the tie, and claimed a 1-1 draw in Glasgow. We headed to the east-coast to complete the fixture, hoping to come away with an unlikely win, but fell short in a 2-1 defeat. 

It was heart-breaking to get so far in the Junior Cup and fall short like this. The journey had been remarkable, with some memorable victories gained along the way. But history eluded us for the time being, and we would have to wait another year to try and end our century long duct in the competition. 

The League Cup semi-final was a different story, thankfully. We took on St. Anthony's from the same division as ourselves. The game took place in Motherwell at Fir Park, and lived up to the occasion with a five-goal thriller. To reach a cup final in my first season at James McGrory Park was an incredible feeling. I was starting to believe that I had something about me as a coach. But the final presented two big difficulties:

The first is that we'd have to face one of the best funded clubs in the non-league: Johnstone Burgh. This was a club set up to try and reach the SPFL structure. The second difficulty is that the date of the final was the last weekend of the First Division, meaning we'd have to play the Wednesday before, and potentially not know our league fate until after the final whistle in the cup final. That would be an awkward situation to say the least. If were heading into that game worrying about what was happening elsewhere, it would be quite an unwanted distraction. 

Before that we had three league games to focus on. We would have to win all three to keep things in our hands. 

We successfully negotiated the first of the three games with a nervy 1-2 win in Rutherglen. That kept us in the promotion places, but with two teams breathing right down our necks. Only goal difference kept us above Maybole. 

Clearly this was a very tense period of the season, and it was difficult to navigate it. I had been pretty comfortable in my title wins with Harestanes, and so never really had to delve into the psychology of a run-in period like this one. My dealings with the local press were cagey, and I really tried to keep my distance from the players, making sure they focused on nothing but the football. I dared not let them know how I was feeling. 

The following week brought us a comfortable win against relegation-threatened Thorniewood Utd. It was a great relief to be 3-0 up at half-time in a game with so much riding on it. But we learned soon after the game that Maybole and Irvine Meadow had both won their games, while Kilbirnie had slipped up at home to Rutherglen Glencairn. That meant three teams would head into the final game of the season level on points, while Irvine Meadow would be awaiting any slip ups. 

We headed into the final game with a superior goal difference, but our final match would be away at champions Drumchapel. It would also take place on the Wednesday before the other games on the Saturday, meaning if we failed to win, we'd go into the League Cup final sweating over what was happening in the final league matches. It was a horrible situation to consider, so we needed to go and win at Drumpchapel to put it out of our minds! 

Unfortunately, we would have to do things the hard way. The champions were a tad fortunate to beat us, in all honesty, but in a rare goalless performance from us, we had handed the initiative to the other teams. We would face Johnstone Burgh on Saturday knowing our promotion fate was also being decided at the same time. A horrible, horrible situation. 

To deal with the matter of the League Cup: we managed to turn the game around late on, scoring in the 78th and 92nd minute to beat Johnstone Burgh and win our first ever League Cup! It was a beautiful moment to lift a trophy in my first year with St. Roch's - if only I could enjoy it! 

Of course, as soon as the final whistle went, there was a strangely subdued atmosphere in our camp. Instead of popping the champagne and lapping everything up, we immediately set about trying to find out what had happened in the First Division final weekend! 

Spoiler

 

[Rick87]

Wow, a very bitter sweet final day. Congratulations on the cup win. Build on it and get that promotion next time.

[Tikka Mezzala]

5 minutes ago, Rick87 said:

Wow, a very bitter sweet final day. Congratulations on the cup win. Build on it and get that promotion next time.

It's going to be really tough. Some of my biggest contributors have been loan signings, and my early talks about extending their stays have been pretty negative. If we're going to be able to push on, the board have to cough up a wage budget that allows me to actually improve on what we've had this season. There's a very real chance we end the summer worse off in terms of players. Losing one of our main centre-backs in January hurt us, and I can't see everyone staying during the summer with bigger clubs sniffing about. 

It's shaping up to be a moment of truth. We might have to scale back our expectations depending on what happens over the summer. But I have another piece of silverware to add to my CV, so on a personal level I'm pretty chuffed. I'd love another promotion, though. 

[Tikka Mezzala]

There's no getting away from the disappointment of missing out on promotion on the final day of the season, but it's the job of a leader to look at the bigger picture and contextualise everything. At the beginning of the year we were given no chance of promotion. Our early season form put us on the backfoot and had us worrying about being dragged into the relegation fight. We handled that situation well as we were coming through a transition period, and got ourselves in the running for promotion, as well as fighting for two cup competitions. This all happened with a small squad that was always at risk of being picked apart, or ravaged by injuries. 

All in all, then, I'm delighted with how the first year at St. Roch's went. My career trajectory continues to rise. But we face a difficult summer. It's clear that we need reinforcements if we're to build on the year we've just had, but last summer I found my hands tied in the transfer market. The club committee would have to part with some of the sponsorship money that has come in and offer me a decent wage budget. 

Our best contributors last year were loan signings, and it's been tough trying to negotiate extensions. That means we could lose the above goals/assists contributions, leaving a major hole in the team. 

Thankfully, the committee seen some sense and offered me a £2k wage budget. This would still have to stretch significantly, however. A very good player at this level demands between £350-£500 playing fee, while a decent player will set you back between £150-£250 p/w. That's not including bonuses. 

In the early weeks of the summer, we spent about half our wage budget getting some deals done as quickly as we could. We brought in a couple of centre-backs, central midfielders, wingers, and a striker. 

My priority in the rest of the window would be to replace anyone we lose, bring in a left-back, and perhaps a new goalkeeper if the right one came along. If we achieved all of that, I'd be confident that we could build on last season and maybe win promotion to the Premier Division. 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

Three years in non-league management gave me a crash course in player recruitment. With the absence of a proper scouting network, you had to develop strategies to increase the pool of talent available to you. The first of these was the most convenient, but the least reliable: the trial game. This involved organising matches for local players to come along and attempt to win a contract. The problem with it is that you have little control over the quality of player applying to play in the game(s). If you are really picky, you could specify that you are looking only for players with previous experience playing at a specific level, but in doing so you risk cutting the shortlist far too much.

The second strategy is to attain lists of released players. This gives you an idea of the level the players played at previously, but it's the most competitive method for trying to sign players. Every manager is looking at these lists, and any player coming from a decent club is likely to have plenty of suitors. 

The third strategy is to rely on your own ability to identify talent. That means keeping an eye on opposition players and taking note of anyone who impresses. The obvious problem with this method is that you only have a limited sample size to judge a player on, and you might not be the best judge! 

Finally, you could use your contacts in the game to get the inside track on players. Having come through multiple coaching courses, and having developed relationships with people across the pyramid, I could phone up some of these people and tell them what I needed, and if they knew of any players who fit the bill. Again, how well these people can judge players varies, but at least you can get some information about what's out there. 

These were the strategies I had adopted in my three seasons. The other ways you become aware of players is through them reaching out to you looking for a trial/contract, and organised events that allow you to scout recently released players. I tend to avoid the latter, because it's far too crowded a market, and players can really hold you to ransom when they have multiple options on the table. 

This summer had been my busiest so far in management. With a solid first season behind me at St. Roch's, I knew I had to build on it. The committee had generously backed me with a semi-decent wage budget, and it was my job to go out and see what I could pull together with it. 

By the time preseason training had started, we already had nine players in through the door. With the expiry of loan deals and a couple of other departures, we were down six. So the squad size had increased, giving us a bit more depth to handle all of the competitions we would enter. 

Because of all the new faces, we had to try and build up our cohesion and familiarity over preseason. I organised friendlies against teams lower down the pyramid hoping that it would allow us to gently build everything up ahead of the competitive football. I also wanted to refocus everyone after the bittersweet end to the previous season. 

Over the course of preseason we discovered who our first opponents would be once the competitive football got started: 

The fixture would bring together two teams inspired by opposite sides of the Celtic/Rangers divide. The game would take place at Duncansfield Park in Kilsyth, not too far from Kirkintilloch where I was still based. 

As the new signings bedded in, we put together a positive run of results in our friendlies. While we weren't really tested by any of the opponents, I felt it was a good set of exercises in building familiarity and morale. 

We were now ready to start the season and attempt to better last year's efforts. 

 

 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

There's always a buzz around training the week before it all gets started. No matter how many friendlies you schedule, nothing compares to the first game in which there are actual stakes. For us, the first game happened to bring a little bit of added spice. 

While Kilsyth Rangers aren't a traditional rival of ours, the fact that the club have an association with Rangers, while we have an association with Celtic, meant that there was an added edge to things. It was a great way to get the ball rolling on a new campaign. 

I had hoped we would emerge victorious in the game, of course, but I could never have imagined that we'd go to Duncansfield Park and win 0-6. The 120 fans we brought with us to Kilsyth must have felt a sense of pride watching us emerge from one of the more hostile non-league grounds we're likely to visit with such an incredible win. Unfortunately we couldn't follow it up the following week when the First Division got going. 

Cumnock Juniors had just come down from the Premier Division, and they started life in the lower tiers with a 1-0 win against us. We recovered to win our next six games across all competitions, including an unbelievable 6-1 win at home to Lowland League side East Stirlingshire. But the month of September ended on a sour note as we lost to Caley Locos at home, then drew with one of our rivals Petershill. 

Despite the six impressive victories in a row, we had only managed to win once in the league in our four outings. That put us on the back foot early on, as we risked becoming a cup team. 

Things would have to improve in the First Division if we were to make good on our promotion hopes. 

Meanwhile, our reward for beating East Stirlingshire in the South Challenge Cup was a tie against local rivals Ashfield:

Both teams are nestled in the northern outposts of Glasgow, along with Petershill, Glasgow Perthshire, and a couple of smaller clubs from lower down the divisions. 

[Tikka Mezzala]

October began with an offer from Banks o'Dee, and Aberdonian club currently plying their trade in the Highland League. I was intrigued to know how much a manager at a middling Highland League club made before entertaining the talks. I found that it could vary quite wildly, and the only way I would have been able to find out what Banks o'Dee would be offering was to speak with them. 

Despite the prospect of making a reasonable salary this early in my career, I declined the talks. My thinking was that I could go to Aberdeen and struggle, falling backwards in my career, or I could continue on the forward path with St. Roch's, knowing my good work would open more doors to me in the future, especially ones closer to home. I wasn't against travelling a bit further if there was extra compensation, but the preference would be to keep working in the Lowlands. 

October's football brought us another six-match winning run, halted only by a draw with St. Anthony's on the final day of the month. We did, however, progress in all of the various cup competitions, including the big game against Ashfield at James McGrory Park:

I was pleased to give the fans some local bragging rights, especially as we hadn't been able to beat Petershill in our three meetings. So this one was sweet. 

The league was very tight heading into November, but I was determined to start getting a proper run of form in league games behind us, so that we could close the gap on Petershill. I felt we had shown such excellent levels in cup games, and perhaps dipped in our league outings so far, which didn't reflect my priorities. 

We had everything to play for as winter approached. 

[Rick87]

You probably made the right decision to hold off on moving clubs at this point, hopefully, you can continue to grow St Roch's and build a squad capable of challenging for promotion. Great win over East Stirlingshire there as well.

On an unrelated note, I'm quite interested in the Strathclyde Cup as I've been tinkering with the editor and building the ancient kingdom of Strathclyde, basically, the South-Western part of modern Scotland and Cumbria that was also part of the kingdom. I hadn't realized there was a cup competition already in existence.

[Tikka Mezzala]

We carried on from our sublime October with a perfect November: four league wins and progression in all of our cup competitions. The final cup victory of the month happened to be a semi-final in the Strathclyde Cup, a solid 1-5 win away at Benburb. This set up a December cup final against St. Anthony's. 

The festive month would also determine our fortunes in the Junior Cup and the League Cup, making it a pretty hectic period of cut-throat football. We would have to bring a strong mentality to a period of seven days that would shape a significant part of our season. 

Ahead of the tricky festive period, I completed my six month course and attained the Continental B Licence. I was now surely in a position to demand better than £80 p/w for my coaching expertise! 

December proved to be a bit of a tricky month for us, as we experienced mixed fortunes across multiple competitions. We started the month well enough with a straightforward thumping of struggling Troon, but the next couple of games would see us exit two cup competitions in quick succession! 

First up was the shock defeat away at Larkhall Thistle in the Junior Cup. This one stung, not only because it was in the more prestigious competition, but because it was at the hands of a club from a heavily-Rangers oriented area. This was followed up by a penalty shootout defeat at the hands of Caley Locos in the League Cup, meaning we'd be relinquishing the trophy we had won at the end of last season. 

With two cup exits in the space of a few days, you could understand our trepidation heading into the Strathclyde Cup final against St. Anthony's. Our confidence had been rocked by the defeats to Larkhall and Caley Locos, and it didn't improve much when we fell behind against The Ants. Fortunately, the team recovered their composure and our quality shone through, as we powered our way to a 4-2 win, giving us our first ever success in the competition. The victory also kept up my personal record of having lifted silverware in every year I had been involved in management. 

The St. Anthony's game was very well attended, breaking the competition record for number of spectators. I was glad that we had managed to come out on top on a day when much of the community had turned out to watch us. 

I had hoped that winning silverware would have given us a huge shot in the arm, but we lost our next game away at Belshill in the First Division. Thankfully that didn't lead to a slump in our league form, as we recovered to win the remaining three games of the year quite comfortably. We did, however, receive some pretty devastating news after the win over Irvine Meadow:

Evan Galasso is one of our star players, having bagged 15 goals and 11 assists in 25 appearances so far this season. He would miss the rest of the campaign through injury. 

As we approached the New Year, we enjoyed a cushion over the teams below us, and were well placed to win promotion, and maybe even the league title. We only had one more cup competition to focus on, so our attention was very much on trying to get ourselves over the line and into the promised land of the Premier Division. 

[Tikka Mezzala]

After a mixed December, I was determined to turbo-charge our league form and go for broke. The players who were here last season had tasted final day heartbreak, and I encouraged them to use the memory of that fateful day to motivate them as the crucial junctures of the season approached. 

With only the South Challenge Cup competing for our attention, league games would not make up the bulk of our fixture list. It was a straight sprint to the finish line from here on in, and I wanted us to cruise over it, rather than stumble. 

The players certainly delivered on that desire across January and February. Six wins from six in the league, including our first over Petershill since I took charge, was accompanied by progression to the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup. In the latter competition we had beaten two Premier Division sides along the way, making it pretty clear that we were not going to be out of our depth should we get ourselves a place in the top-tier of the West of Scotland pyramid next season. 

In February I also signed on for another year at St. Roch's. 

My pay remained at the same level, but I was happy to continue the project I had started at James McGrory Park while I waited on the right opportunity to come along. Next season would mark the fifth year of my non-league apprenticeship, and I was getting impatient for a salaried role to present itself. For now, I was happy to remain in post. 

With March/April approaching, we were on the verge of winning the title, along with promotion. A few more wins would do the trick. I felt confident that we would sprint over the line and give ourselves a more relaxed end to the season than the one we experienced last year. 

[Tikka Mezzala]

This season, the run-in was much more straightforward. Last season we faced the dreadful scenario of waiting on other results while we competed in a cup final. This time around we had our fate in our own hands and we never dropped the ball. 

After thumping Glencairn and Troon, our title was actually delivered by a draw against struggling Renfrew. It wasn't the ideal way to seal the deal, but I'm not complaining one bit. 

Unfortunately we couldn't turn a double into a treble, after Linlithgow Rose knocked us out the South Challenge Cup in the semis. I was disappointed, but not distraught. We were having an unbelievable season and I was not going to let the defeat spoil it. 

With nothing riding on April's fixtures, I asked the players to remain professional. They took my words on board and finished the campaign in top form. We could now reflect on a job well done, having won a league and cup double, and getting St. Roch's to the top of the WoS pyramid for the first time. Whatever happens from here, this group of players are history makers. 

[Tikka Mezzala]

I basked in the glow of our achievements during the otherwise dreich Scottish summer. I gloated in the WhatsApp groups that contained other coaches, working at various levels of the game. While I certainly was not in the most prestigious job among my colleagues, I was the only one at this moment in time who was winning trophies as a manager in their own right. The group had been put together during my time on the National B Licence course. We kept in contact and updated each other on our progress, along with alerting each other to any opportunities we became aware of. Most of the guys were working behind the scenes at clubs in the lower reaches of the SPFL. It was through this WhatsApp group that I became aware of a potential opening. 

Forfar Athletic had just suffered the ignominy of finishing at the very bottom of the SPFL pyramid. To add insult to injury, they ended up losing the Promotion/Relegation Playoff to one of their local rivals, Brechin City. This saw them drop out of the SPFL pyramid and into the SFA National Leagues, which are split between the Highland and Lowland leagues. This was just one step above the West of Scotland Premier Division, the league I had just guided St. Roch's into. Here was an opportunity, then, to make a pitch to the Forfar Athletic board, and to land a job that would bring me some kind of renumeration for my efforts. I had a decent track record early in my career of winning promotions. That would surely appeal to a club that had just dropped out of the SPFL, and needed to try and get back into it as quickly as possible. 

From my perspective, the job would provide me with the perfect platform to make the break into the SPFL. Not only would a newly relegated team have ambitions of getting back up as soon as possible, but working just one division below the SPFL would mean I'd be on the radars of other clubs higher up the pyramid if I was to do good work in Forfar. I brushed up my CV, sent it into the Forfar Athletic board for consideration, and waited on a phone call. 

I sat down with the Forfar board and put forward my vision for the future. I was pleased they were realistic in their outlook, accepting that there may be a season of consolidation before any promotion push, but I assured them the plan was to return the club to the SPFL as soon as possible. Everything seemed to go well, and we parted ways with a sense of expectation on my part. 

Having learned of my interview with Forfar Athletic, the St. Roch's committee asked me to meet with them to put forward their case for me staying on at the club. Out of respect for them, I attended the meeting, but I made it clear that I had to take the next step in my career. I also had to try and up my earnings. If the offer came, I was leaving. 

Not long after my meeting with the committee, the offer came in from Forfar Athletic. It was a bit inconvenient to travel up there for Tuesday/Thursday training sessions and weekend matches, but it was a move that ultimately would propel forward my career. 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

Upon taking over at Forfar Athletic I encountered several problems. The first was the departure of a significant chunk of the team due to contracts expiring. With our relegation from League 2, many players felt they could earn a contract elsewhere in the SPFL structure, and decided not to drop down to the Highland League with us. The second problem was unhappiness among the players who remained under contract: 

These were players that I wanted to keep around; players who would provide the foundation for our rebuild. I was going to have to try and avoid the nuclear scenario of losing them all, and having to basically put an entirely new squad together. 

Upon meeting the players for the first time, I could tell that there was apprehension about my appointment. After all, none of these guys followed the fortunes of Harestanes and St. Roch's. I was an unknown coach who had come in to the club at a time of crisis and transition. Everything felt like it was up in the air. Usually, in such circumstances, an experienced head brings calm to the situation, but Forfar had went ahead and appointed a rookie. I didn't have access to the players' WhatsApp group, but I could imagine what was being said in the days following my appointment. 

I chose not to address the problem of wantaway players directly. I would wait for them to come to me, and in the meantime try to instil some confidence by having a solid preseason. The problem with this approach is that we faced a League Cup group stage campaign instead of having weeks of friendly matches against a chosen level of opponent. As a Highland League outfit, we'd be facing teams from higher up the divisions, making it difficult to put together a run of wins that could instil belief in the squad. I would have to hope the draw was kind to us. 

We were lucky to have two League 2 sides in our group, while Ross County and Arbroath were probably decent Championship and Premiership opponents to face. Arbroath and Brechin were local rivals of ours, however, meaning we'd face two big games in the opening weeks of the season. 

[Tikka Mezzala]

After a couple of preseason friendly wins against amateur sides, we ramped up our preparations for the coming season with our first competitive outing at home to Stenhousemuir. The ticket sales ahead of the match were a cause for concern, with the locals seeming to turn their backs on the team after their relegation from League 2. 

In my first media outing as Forfar manager, I asked the supporters to get behind the team and help us get back into the SPFL, but it was clear it would take a while to earn their trust back. 

Our transfer business didn't exactly excite the supporters either, with most of my early targets coming from my old club:

Daniel Tracz had been on loan to St. Roch's last year, and bagged over 30 goals across all competitions. I was desperate to bring him to Forfar, and thankfully East Fife were happy to lend him to me for another season. 

Our league cup campaign began with a point at home to Stenhousemuir, although it was the Stirlingshire-based club who gained the extra point with a penalty shootout win. I was disappointed not to win the game, because I felt we had edged it, but football is unforgiving and you have to be ruthless to get your rewards.

This was arguably our most winnable tie, so the prospects for the rest of our League Cup campaign were grim. 

The first of our derby meetings would be against Arbroath. It was a chastening experience, as we found ourselves 2-0 down after only four minutes. A couple of goals in the second half put us 4-0 down, before Evan Galasso gave us a consolation. 

I felt pretty hard done by after the game. I don't believe 4-1 reflected the reality of the match. Arbroath's superior finishing was the difference, as we had plenty of chances to add to our solitary goal. Nonetheless, we were having to brush ourselves down after a derby humiliation, and face the prospect of another one a few days later against Brechin City, the team who relegated us. 

Put simply: we dominated this match. We played like a team hell-bent on gaining a measure of revenge. But we did throw away a two goal lead, and for all our superiority, we were hanging on for dear life at the end. 

In my post-match team talk I had to be lenient with the players. They needed encouragement after the previous couple of games. But I was tempted to put a rocket up their arse after the lead we threw away. We simply had to get to grips with our defensive responsibilities and stop leaking easy goals. 

I dreaded to think what Premiership Ross County would do to us in the next game! 

I was pretty damn pleased with this performance and result. We went 2-0 down and could easily have folded, but we stuck to our guns and managed to turn things around. We did end up losing the penalty shootout, but that's totally academic given we were already eliminated from the group. So this gave me a real shot in the arm, and a belief that our approach would be fruitful in the Highland League. 

As bottom seeds, you have to be pleased with a third place finish and five points. I feared we'd have been wiped out with no points on the board, but we held our own for the most part. Even in the thumping at Arbroath, we weren't totally out of our depth in the general play. We just lacked a cutting edge. 

There would be a final cup game before the league got started: the first round of the SPFL Trust Trophy, where we had been drawn against a Highland League opponent - Formartine United. This would be the first chance for me to see how we compared with a side from our own division. 

I was absolutely delighted with the performance in this game. From start to finish, we played aggressively, and with purpose. In my career so far, particularly with St. Roch's, I could be accused of being a little too pragmatic at times, but my intention was to let these Forfar players off the leash. This performance exemplified the kind of football I wanted to be associated with. 

 

 

 

[Rick87]

Good luck with Forfar, I remember having a fun few seasons with them on an old FM as part of the British Steel Challenge.

Nice to see you bringing in some of your St Roch's players in.

[Deisler26]

So far, Forfar

[Tikka Mezzala]

After a positive, though fruitless, League Cup group stage, we started the Highland League campaign with a draw against Forres Mechanics. It was a fantastic game of football for the neutral observer, but also a reminder that we would not necessarily have everything our own way this season. Forres weren't amongst the front-runners in the bookmakers' pre-season predictions for promotion hopefuls, but they pushed us all the way and took a well-earned point from us. 

Far from panicking, we got our first win on the board the following week at Deveronvale. This was followed up by a 2-5 mauling of Clachnacuddin in Inverness, the second game in a row in which we scored five goals. After only three outings, it was clear we had found the way to goal pretty easily, but our defensive endeavours were proving more problematic. 

A penalty shootout win at Tynecastle against Hearts' u-21 side continued the positive momentum, and we ended August with three further wins against Wick Academy, Buckie Thistle, and Banks o'Dee. All in all, a very solid start to life outside the SPFL pyramid. 

September started with dropped points at Nairn County, but our winning habit did not abandon us for long as we powered through the month five consecutive wins, along with a welcomed three clean sheets. Among our victories were cup progressions in the SPFL Trust Trophy and the Scottish Cup. The East Stirlingshire win was my first involvement in the Scottish Cup as a manager. 

After ten games, we found ourselves with a six point cushion at the top. It was a very positive start to the Highland League season, and my history in management thus far suggested I knew how to get the job done from such positions. 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

October would have been a great month if it hadn't been for two glaring defeats. The first of these came in the Scottish Cup against Lowland League outfit Tranent Juniors. We were highly wasteful in the game and spurned some glorious chances, allowing Tranent to sucker punch us and dump us out the competition in the second round. Despite the Scottish Cup not being a priority for us this season, I was gutted my first involvement in the competition came to an end like this. I felt we could have maybe went on and enjoyed a big draw in the fourth round had we navigated another couple of stages. 

The other defeat came in the league away at Formartine. It was our first loss in the Highland League, and I couldn't help feel there was some complacency in the camp that led to the defeat. I was scathing of the team at the end of the game, and made it clear that I would not be accepting half-arsed performances going forward. 

Despite the aforementioned losses, we did win all but one of our league games, and we shocked Falkirk in the SPFL Trust Trophy. The only blemish on our winning run was the number of goals we conceded. It seemed like everybody was guaranteed to score twice against us through the middle of the month. 

November was a quieter month with only five fixtures to fulfil. We came through the first four of them in good nick, but lost at home to Keith in the final outing. 

The highlight of the month was our Trust Trophy penalty shoot-out win over East Kilbride. For the second round in a row we had beaten an SPFL club on penalties. This allowed us to book our place in the semi-finals, where Kilmarnock would await us at Rugby Park. 

The other wins in the month came against Huntly, and a double header against Loch Ness. 

Despite a couple of league defeats, we still enjoyed a cushion at the top. Our goals for record was outstanding, but I was not so happy with our defensive performance. 

 

[Tikka Mezzala]

As the festive period loomed, I considered putting some more pieces in place to help with my career development. One of the guys in the WhatsApp group talked about signing up to an agency to help with future opportunities and contracts. I'd never had the need for an agent in the past, but now seemed like a good time to start thinking about it. 

I was given a number to phone and was put through to a guy called Peter Poole. He handled around 77 clients, and considered himself to be something of a king maker. Given my lowly standing in the game, the dynamic between us was quite lopsided, with Peter pretty much talking down to me the whole time. He waxed lyrical about the need for representation in the modern game, how he'd increased the earning potential of this or that player or manager, and how he could help me become an established name in the British market. He then started reading out a list of his current clients, which included Dujon Sterling at Rangers and Jamal Lewis at Leicester City. 

After Peter had established his credentials, he got to the bottom line. He said that he would not be asking for a hefty fee while I was on my current deal with Forfar, the details of which I had disclosed to him, but would eventually look for around 5% of my earnings when I was in the big bucks. That seemed quite steep to me, so I decided to ask for time to mull things over. Peter took this as a negotiating tactic, and so brought the number down to 3%. I still thought it was a lot to ask for given I had no idea if he would be any good for me, but he came with a recommendation, so I verbally agreed to come into his office and sign on the dotted line. 

Things on the pitch couldn't really have went any better over December and January. We were scoring freely, winning most weeks, and had even caused a mighty upset in the SPFL Trust Trophy, beating Championship side Kilmarnock on penalties at Rugby Park. 

We had also opened up what looked to be a pretty unassailable lead at the top of the Highland League. With only a few months left to run in the season, we were well placed to have a crack at the playoffs and an immediate return to the SPFL. 

My stock was most definitely rising.

[Tikka Mezzala]

Having positioned ourselves to go on and enjoy a successful end to the season, the players delivered on most fronts across February, March and April. 

Winning all but two league games across the three months ensured that we would become Highland League champions and advance to the playoffs. On top of this achievement we won the Highland Cup, beating Banks o'Dee in the final. I had a pretty strong record in cup competitions in my career to date, and so I was delighted to add another to my growing collection. 

Unfortunately our heroic run in the SPFL Trust Trophy was to come undone at the hands of Dunfermline Athletic. The Pars pretty much laid down the law to us in the final, with a 0-3 routing. As disappointing as it was not to compete against them, we had to be proud of our run to the final. Sometimes the better team just has one of those days and you are powerless to avoid defeat. 

Our title win meant that we would advance to the playoffs to face the winners of the Lowland League, and if we could navigate that encounter, we'd face the team that finished bottom of League 2 in the SPFL. 

The Lowland League champions were Johnstone Burgh, a team flush with cash who had come up from the West of Scotland pyramid only a couple of seasons ago. They had lost out to Brechin City in last season's playoffs, and were looking to succeed the second time around. 

In an uncharacteristic performance, we were trounced in the first leg of the playoff tie against Johnston Burgh. We had chances to add to our two goals in a very open game of football, but we totally capitulated defensively, and found ourselves with a mountain to climb in the return leg. 

We threw everything we had at Johnstone Burgh in Forfar, and on another night we might have actually gotten the goals we needed, but we were wasteful, and our opponents were sturdy, and so we fell well short in the end. 

It was a devastating way to end the season for us. After all the hard work of getting to the playoffs, we froze at the important moment. It felt like everything had come undone. 

We would now face a summer of transition, as many of our players who had agreed to stick around for a promotion push would likely move on, meaning we'd be scrambling about to put together a team capable of righting the wrongs of the season's heartbreaking conclusion. 

[Tikka Mezzala]

When the summer recess ended, there were only fourteen first-team players on the books at Forfar Athletic. Most of our biggest contributors at both ends of the park had walked out at the end of their contract, leaving us in panic mode come July. We had tried our best to put the feelers out for new players, but things were moving very slowly. 

Away from the club, I had privately been harbouring doubts about my future with Forfar. The drive up from Glasgow every couple of days was taking its toll, and with my second job in social care also based in the city, it was hard balancing everything. I needed to find a full-time salaried role that would allow me to commit to one job and base myself near to where I worked. I expressed these thoughts to Peter Poole, my agent, and he told me he would try and sort something out for me in the next eighteen months or so. In the mean time, I was passed on to an underling in the agency, allowing Peter to focus more on his top-tier clients. The silver lining to this was the dynamics had changed: I was now the more assertive, confident person in the room, while Peter's staffer was seemingly desperate to convince me he was good enough to handle my business. 

At a conversation over lunch the prospect of working abroad was brought up. The agency had contacts in ROI, England, Japan, and the Nordic States. The thought of uprooting my life seemed quite daunting to me, but if the money was right, I'd consider anything. I was only earning £250 p/w after tax, and the cost of living was really biting. My contract would be up for renewal at some point during the coming season, but I was not totally sold on committing to another year or more at Forfar. Only an improved financial package would change my mind, and that was something the agency staffer promised to look into. 

On the pitch, our preseason form was a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly. We won our friendly games quite comfortably, and even managed to pick up wins against Inverness CT and Aberdeen's development side, but our thin squad was given a complete showing up in Perth against St Johnstone, and we were also well beaten by Alloa and rivals Arbroath. 

It wasn't the confidence boost we needed after losing out in the playoffs last season, but the League Cup group stage isn't something we prioritised this season. It's mostly an exercise in gaining match fitness for us, although it would have been nice to have avoided some of the morale damaging defeats. 

As the League season approached, we had made some progress bringing in a few loan signings, as well as a couple of free agents. But we were still lacking depth. If we could avoid any major injuries, maybe we could get to January in okay shape, but we still had to press on trying to add players to the roster until the window closed. 

[Tikka Mezzala]

The final month of the transfer window was hectic. We managed to pull our squad up to twenty-one players in total, although it wasn't yet clear whether the quality of the team was better or worse than the previous year. I had to give enormous credit to the recruitment staff at Forfar, who worked tirelessly around the clock to help me with new additions. I had struggled to find appropriate targets through my own contacts, so I was completely at the mercy of the team around me. 

Despite having made a lot of changes to the roster, we actually made a very steady start to the Highland League. We might have been dumped out the SPFL Trust Trophy in the second round, but we remained unbeaten in the league, and progressed in the Scottish Cup. A slight concern was the fact that we had only won one of our away games in the league, drawing the rest. There was also a single clean sheet across eleven games in August/September. Steady, but room for improvement was the early season report card. 

The Autumn was a very productive period for us, as we progressed in both cup competitions, and really got our league campaign up ahead of steam. November in particular was a fruitful month, as we emerged victorious in all six games, including a 3-0 win against Championship outfit Cove Rangers in the Scottish Cup. 

We were sitting pretty heading into December, and I was confident that we were on course to have another crack at the playoffs. The team was getting stronger as the season wore on, and we had a few players lined up for January to help us with depth. The club was in a positive place. 

A few days into the festive month, I got a call from the agency staffer who was handling my case. They told me that they had sounded out someone at Inverness CT, and that it would be possible for me to interview for the vacancy up there. Caley were struggling in League One, and had some financial woes to contend with. I made it clear to the staffer that I would only be interested in the money allowed me to quit my job in Glasgow and base myself up there. I was certainly not willing to drive even further every few days. 

I agreed to meet with Chris Sweeney, the chairperson if ICT. He drove down to Glasgow out of courtesy. He told me the club keeps an eye on the going ons in Highland football, and he had been impressed with the work I was doing at Forfar. The conversation soon turned to Inverness's predicament, and it was clear the club needed someone to inject a bit of positivity into things. There would be financial constraints to work under, but the plan was to fix things up and get the club back into the Championship within three years. I didn't really know much about the state of the current squad, so I couldn't comment on how realistic this plan was. I made my pitch to him, telling him that I would bring a positive tactical approach, hoping to inspire the players and the fans. I explained that I had found Forfar in a similarly depressed state when I took over, but I had been able to get results from the beginning, and was confident I could do the same at Inverness. 

Everything seemed to go well at the interview, and a few days later I got a call from my agent telling me there was an offer on the table. The initial deal was for £550 p/w, or £28,600 p/a. But we did a bit of negotiating. 

This brought me up to £35,100 p/a, much more than I could ever hope to earn at Forfar. I put pen to paper, informed Forfar of my decision, and quit my job as a sessional support worker in Glasgow. 

I booked myself into a Travelodge in Inverness indefinitely, and set about looking for somewhere to rent nearby. 

I was now an SPFL manager. 

[Tikka Mezzala]

I made my way from the Travelodge I was based in to the Caledonian Stadium to face the press for the first time as Inverness manager. The number of journalists in the room told me what I already knew to be true: that I was managing a regional powerhouse. 

Inverness might have fallen behind Ross County in recent times, but the club was still one of the big names in Highland football. The fortunes of the club was looked upon as a reflection of the fortunes of the city itself. The fact that ICT had fallen from the Premiership down to League 1 in recent years, and was still on something of a downward trajectory, was a cause for great concern around these parts. The club had tried and failed to reignite its fortunes by hiring various managers over the years, including Duncan Ferguson, but no one had cracked the code. The local press rightly asked why I was considered suitable for the task of resurrecting the club. The Chairperson highlighted my ability to get the best out of razor thin budgets, and to help turn dressing rooms around, but I don't think his answers convinced anyone. I was given the chance to add my own perspective into the mix, but I knew better than to add any added pressure onto my shoulders, so I merely insisted that judgements be reserved until enough time had passed for a reasonable assessment to be made. Words would never be enough to convince a dejected public who had been let down so many times that this time would be different, but results might. 

 

I had joined the club one day before the match away at Clyde, and so my first five fixtures would bring three wins and two draws. This was a marked improvement on the five winless games leading up to my appointment. It was exactly what was needed to help settle any nerves about my appointment. 

In such a tight league, a good run of form could propel you into the mix for the playoffs, while a winless run could put you in danger at the other end of the table. It would be important to try and continue the positive momentum we had started to generate into the New Year.