COWLEY HAS NOT CHANGED HIS WAY
DANNY Cowley believes the lessons he learned in Non-League are standing him in good stead as a Championship manager.
Over little more than a decade, the former PE teacher climbed from the Essex Senior League to English football’s second tier, alongside brother Nicky for most of the way.
It’s been a remarkable journey via Concord Rangers, Braintree and Lincoln to his current home, Huddersfield.
No-one could have predicted it, but Cowley, who took the Terriers’ reins in September, is grateful for that long and winding journey from Non-League to the upper echelons.
“I’ve experienced eight of the top nine divisions and whenever you go up – it doesn’t matter if it’s the Essex Senior League to Ryman League Division One or League One to the Championship – the same always applies: Everything gets better
“Physically, the players get better, technically, tactically the players and the teams get better and the managers you’re managing against are much more tactically intelligent.
“Mentally, it’s more challenging in terms of concentration because the speed of the play is so quick and certainly the style of football changes as you go through the divisions. The pitches get better, the quality of the players gets better. The challenges in-game become different.”
In Huddersfield’s lastgasp 1-0 victory at Charlton on Tuesday, teenager Rarmani Edmonds-Green made his Championship debut at right-back.
The 20-year-old spent the latter part of last season on loan at Brighouse Town and has also enjoyed a temporary spell with Bromley this term.
After the midweek win, Cowley said: “Less than six months ago, he was in Step 4, playing for Brighouse Town.
“He’s a centre-half and so played out of position. It was an unbelievable effort from him. I thought he was really calm, assured and composed. I was really proud of him.”