UP FOR THE CUP
Boss Jody’s making Hey
All the reaction from a fascinating FA Cup first round draw which threw up some intriguing ties
WHEN Jody Brown returned to Heybridge Swifts 18 months ago, they could only dream of a date in the FA Cup first round proper.
The Bostik North club beat league rivals Haringey Borough to set up an away trip to League Two side Exeter City.
And the boss says bagging a Football League side is what the FA Cup is all about for clubs like Swifts.
“I think I speak on behalf of most people, we just wanted to get a Football League club,” he told
The NLP. “I’ve been in the first round before and got Oxford City. No disrespect to Oxford, but you don’t really want to get another Non-League club. When you’re a Step 4 club you want a big tie.
“So I’m just pleased we got a Football League club and – a lot of people might be surprised when I say it – away from home. Our supporters come to our ground 30-40 times a season. I’d much rather they get an opportunity to go to a Football League ground and have a big day out.
“Although playing at home would be a good day, it’s just not quite the same of having that journey to a League stadium and all that goes with it. The overnight stay, the travelling down – things that are quite unique for players at our level. I’m extremely pleased for everyone.”
Brown says the foundations were put down after Swifts avoided relegation to Step 5 on the final day of last season.
He says going so close to “disaster” galvanised the club, has led to new sponsors and new fans coming through the gate.
“I honestly feel the character we revealed on that final day has made such a difference to us,” he said.
“Last Saturday at Haringey we were 1-0 up and they got it back to 1-1. we were backs against the wall for 20 minutes. A year ago we wouldn’t have coped with that.
“But having come through all we did last season, we seem to have that character to defend for long periods the game and never think we’re out of it.” For Brown, Heybridge has also been a place to rebuild his own managerial career. His first spell led to Grays Athletic and his growing reputation then saw him replace Jamie Day at Welling, then in the Conference Premier, in December 2014. But he was sacked after just eight games in charge after picking up one point. A spell on the staff at Concord Rangers revitalised him before he took a No.1 job again. Not that it was easy and, with the club in financial uncertainty, he gave up his wages for the rest of the season.
Reputation
“Truth be told, I think the people in charge of the club at the time were kind of accepting relegation,” Brown said. “I don’t think it’s something many managers out there would do but I so desperately wanted to, one, keep the club up, but, two, rebuild my reputation. There was no way I was going to hold the club to ransom.
“I wanted to be a good role model to the players who were being asked to take cuts. Some left, some stayed, but the end of the story is we stayed up and that’s put us where we are today.”
And he says his Welling experience has taken time to recover from.
“Now the dust has settled, it was a disgrace,” Brown said. “They plucked me, I didn’t seek them out, and they gave me eight games. Four of those games were with someone else’s squad, a closed transfer window and no training sessions.
“People say, ‘Let it go’. Well, I have, I’ve moved on, but it doesn’t mean I agree with it. It could have been the end of me as a football coach. It was a difficult period.
“I make no secret I thought that was me done and I looked at other career pathways. I went to Concord for four months as a coach and slowly rebuilt my enthusiasm and confidence.
“I’m relatively young but I’ve had eight clubs because every time I’ve had an opportunity I’ve moved up. What I’ve never done is build a football club, like I want to here. As a group I feel we’re moving in the right direction.”