MARCUS BIGNOT FACTFILE

Born: Birmingham, 1974 (age 42) Playing Career: A right-back, Bignot was released by Birmingham at 18 and subsequently spent four years at Conference side Telford, scoring 14 goals in 149 games. A season at Kidderminster then yielded the Conference Cup before a club-record £100,000 switch to First Division Crewe in 1997. He made 95 appearances for the Alex and won the supporters’ player of the year award in his first season. After single-season stays at Bristol Rovers and QPR, both under Ian Holloway, Bignot joined Rushden & Diamonds in 2002 and won the Third Division title in the first of his two campaigns at Nene Park. He returned to QPR in March 2004 and, as captain, led the Hoops to promotion to the Championship. He remained at Loftus Road for four years, taking his total appearances for the club to 172. After injury-hit spells at Millwall, Oldham and Kiddy, Bignot retired in 2010. Managerial career: Named coach of Birmingham Ladies in 1998, Bignot spent seven years with the Blues, winning the Midland Combination and the Northern Premier League. He was also named Birmingham FA’s coach of the year in 1998. Bignot left in 2005 and resurfaced as manager of National League North side Solihull Moors in 2011. Around this time, he was also re-hired by Birmingham Ladies as an adviser ahead of the new WSL. The Moors won the National League North in 2016. After a solid start in Non-League’s top flight, Bignot was named Grimsby boss in November.