BARNES: I HAVE MY DREAM JOB!
Phil’s pride lead to Tigers
PHIL BARNES is celebrating landing his dream job of a lifetime – as manager of Holbeach United.
Barnes began playing for the United Counties Premier Division outfit’s junior ranks as a teenager, and apart from two seasons turning out of Spalding United, he has been part and parcel of his hometown club ever since.
A pivotal figure in the development of the Tigers’ junior sides, he has run the club’s reserve side in in the Peterborough League Premier Division for the past two-and-half seasons.
Now aged 47, Barnes has been appointed to lead the senior team as they renew their quest for the title and promotion that has been cut short this time round by the early curtailment of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has also scuppered their appearance in the KitmanUK League Cup final.
He has replaced long-time close friend and former teammate Danny Hussey, who announced several weeks ago that he would step down at the end of the current campaign.
Instrumental
Barnes will be assisted by fellow Tigers legend Deal Elston, while Hussey’s number two Tim Cole will remain as part of the management team.
One of his first moves has been to appoint former Boston United Reserves and Skegness Town boss Martyn Bunce – who once played in goal for Holbeach – as coach.
There were eight other applications, but the club committee could not hold face-to-face interviews because of the current social distancing guidelines, having to consider each candidate purely on the basis on their CVs – and Barnes was the clear choice.
A Premier Division championship winner as a player with the Tigers, Barnes said: “I’ve played for Holbeach from youth football all the way through, and so this is a dream job for me.
“I am to carry on the good work that Danny had been doing, and hope that at least 80% of the team will stay for next season.”
Barnes added that he has spoken to most of Hussey’s squad by telephone during the enforced closure of the club, and most have said that they want to remain.
“We want to hit the ground running once football returns,” he went on. “With the squad that is there, we should be up there again.”
A club statement said: “Our thinking is that Phil was a local candidate who has been a player and manager within the club already.
“Phil knows the club inside out and has been instrumental in helping youth develop here, too. To them, Holbeach United really means something and we know that they’ll give their all for the club.”
Holbeach has now become a Barnes family affair, after his brother Steve, who recently retired from playing, took over the reins of the second team, along with Neal Collishaw, a manager and coach at the club’s successful community sports academy.