MARCUS BIGNOT
The new Grimsby manager has taken the long road to the EFL...
WASHING KIT, standing in front of his squad to tell them they had to take a pay cut, balancing the books. It’s a wonder Marcus Bignot had time to actually manage at Solihull Moors.
But, for the new Grimsby Town manager, Non-League has always been the perfect education.
Bignot had to go the long way round as a player, too.
Released by Birmingham City, he dropped out of the professional ranks and ended up at Telford United, before a move to Kidderminster Harriers. It was to be the making of him.
Aged 24, the defender’s hard work paid off as Crewe Alexandra paid £100,000 to take him back to the Football League, where he went on to play for Queens Park Rangers, Rushden & Diamonds and Millwall.
“Non-League grounds you,” he says. “It moulds you into a character. It tests your personality and your strength of mind – everything.
“You see now in U21 football that it’s not real.
“Going out and playing Non-League football puts you in good stead for your career ahead.
Exposed
“It’s a great learning curve and, while I was still playing, I always wanted to cut my managerial teeth in NonLeague.
“I’ve pretty much done everything at that football club in my time, from washing the kit, to paying wages, to picking the team.
“You’re not going to be exposed to that if you go straight into the pro game. It certainly prepares you (for the fact) that you don’t take anything for granted.
“There can be a tendency in the pro game to take things for granted.
“If you’ve got a NonLeague background you don’t and you work for everything.”
Bignot certainly put in the hard yards at Moors. When he took over in 2011, he was hit by so many financial bombshells that he demanded full transparency.
He got involved in the dayto-day running of the Midlands club, overseeing everything from the conferencing facilities to the bar takings. On the pitch his touch was felt, too. Every season was an improvement on the previous year’s Conference North finish, which culminated in the title last season.
“It is massive,” he says. “You can get your pro licence and business degree – and I love that side of the qualifications and learning, I’m a student of the game – but the value in going out and getting experience is second to none.
“Nearly six years at one football club represents, for me, 16 years’ experience.
“For any player coming to the end of their career now, yeah, academies are great to work your way through, but cut your teeth in NonLeague.
“You’re able to grow a football club. I went in and I was manager of the U18s and then the first team. We had two teams. I’ve come out of there now and it’s a football club.
“There’s great pride, looking back at what we’ve done there. But Non-League enables you to do that at these small clubs, which Solihull was.
“When I first went in, it was averaging 200 fans. In my last game, we took 200 away to Yeovil. It shows how much we’ve grown, and we were averaging just short of 900 at home now.” So, hard to leave? “People have asked, ‘Was it a sad day?’” he says. “Obviously you’re leaving good people, but it would have been a sad day if I never delivered what I intended.
Unearthed
“I’ve delivered a football club, I’ve delivered a promotion. They’re in the top tier of Non-League. So, I go out with a load of pride.
“But this is my challenge now. Anyone who knows me knows I will give it everything. I’m as determined and driven as ever to succeed at Grimsby Town.”
Bignot hasn’t just been successful with Moors.
He also helped take Birmingham City Ladies from, essentially, park football to the top of the women’s game.
Eni Aluko and Karen Carney, who both have more than 100 caps for their country, were two gems he unearthed.
It all adds up to Grimsby getting one of the brightest managers around as they look to push on in their first season back in the Football League.
Bignot, who has taken assistant manager Micky Moore with him, has already stated his intention to move to the area as he seeks to get under the skin of the town.
“It’s important your team represents you as a manager, but more importantly you’re representing the town and what that stands for,” he says. He describes himself as blessed and proud to be given the opportunity.
“I want the players to know the staff – not just the football staff, but the staff at the club who work hard for them and make it easy for them to come into training and concentrate on football.
“There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes of a football club for its players and management.
“I’m very appreciative how the staff have gone above and beyond to help me and Micky settle in. It’s important players know who the people are that work at the football club, because they’re supporters on a Saturday afternoon. I really want to work on it being one club.”