MANAGING Shaw Lane in the televised 2017 FA Cup first round tie against Steve Evans’ League Two outfit Mansfield Town was the pinnacle of Craig Elliot’s managerial career at that stage.
The current Boston United manager has of course matched and bettered that achievement by taking the Pilgrims to the Second Round earlier this season.
But considering eyebrows were raised when he left Ossett Town in February 2014 and dropped down two Divisions to replace Simon Houghton at ambitious Shaw Lane Aquaforce who at that stage were in Division One of the Northern Counties East League, his list of achievements make him one of the most successful Non League managers of the last 15 years.
Elliott won three promotions (two titles) over four seasons as well as the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup with Shaw Lane. His exceptional leadership in the face of extreme tragedy after defender Dan Wilkinson passed away after collapsing on the pitch at Brighouse Town during a Doodson Cup match in September 2016 also won him huge acclaim.
Maybe apart from his biggest regret of not guiding Shaw Lane to Wembley in the FA Vase in 2015, the only accolade missing was a FA Cup first round appearance until that was ticked off when Mansfield visited in November 2017. Unknowingly at the time, it acted as a fitting final hurrah for a manager who brought huge success to Shaw Lane and was always destined for higher climbs.
Within weeks he was appointed as manager of Boston in the National North and Non League Yorkshire manager of the decade Elliott looks back on his rollercoaster time in charge of Shaw Lane in the latest ‘My Greatest Game’.
Shaw Lane AFC (Bennett 41) 1-3 Mansfield Town (Pearce 34, Rose 73, 78) – 4th November 2017
The Team
Shaw Lane AFC: Stewart, Austin, Serrant (Whitehouse 43), Kelvin Lugsden, Qualter (captain), Byrne, Harris, Clayton, Walker (Abadaki 86), Bennett (Reeves 72). Subs unused: Kieran Lugsden, Jepson, Chilaka, Young.
“I remember buying Steve Evans a really expensive bottle of whisky and hoping that afterwards we would be able to sit down and a chat. But when the game finished I had done an interview and I saw him and I said ‘I’ve got you this’. He just said ‘cheers’ and slapped me on the back and walked off. So I didn’t really speak to him and I had spent a lot of money on this whisky. To be fair he was very respectful and said we had done well. But I haven’t bought any whisky again because I got my fingers burnt.
“I knew after the Mansfield game that it was going to be time to move on and time for a new challenge. I had a feeling about it. I think there was a midweek game after it and we were top of the league and there was something like 120 fans there and I thought ‘I’ve took this club as far as I can now’. We had over 1000 for the Mansfield game and that game should have been the springboard to build a fanbase and it didn’t happen. Me and Craig (Wood) always talked about progressing the club and I always felt I did what I needed to do and if you can’t get a big crowd now after what we had done, you’re never going to do. That midweek game was really disheartening.
“Getting to the FA Cup first round was really my only missing achievement and we did try to have a big go in the Cup that season because you’re right I’d never had a good run in it. Obviously we did have to wait a couple of years to enter it with Shaw Lane because of the rules. But yeah it was nice to take the club to the first round because it put Shaw Lane on the national stage. It was a massive thing to achieve at the time.
“If you go back three or four years earlier, I had taken a massive decision to drop down two Divisions by leaving Ossett Town to join Shaw Lane. I had created a really good team at Ossett before I left. We were bordering on the play-offs and I think we had just got team of the month and we had a really good atmosphere. The club behind the scenes reduced the budget and we had already lost Ryan Qualter to Bradford (Park Avenue) prior to that and I just felt ‘how can I take the club further’? The decision to drop down was a difficult one and one I had to have a really good think about. Craig (Wood) wasn’t well at the time so I spoke Doug (O’Connor) and he sold me the dream and leaving was a good decision in the end.
“At the time the biggest disappointment was people saying I was leaving for money reasons. As people know I refused to take any money to start with. It was purely about the ambition and being in an environment that would help me to have a successful team.
“Daz (Smith) came as well and he was a massive part of my managerial career for seven or eight years. He plugged the gaps I had as a manager. It was by chance that Simon Houghton introduced him to me and we just clicked straightaway. He knows his football and he kept me on the straight and narrow. I miss him even now and I understand his reasons for not staying with me at Boston.
“We got promoted from (NCEL) Division One in our first few months there and I remember it being difficult. It is very unusual you get a job late in a season where you have to get them promoted. I brought in a couple of my own players and there were still a few bumps. I think signing Shane Kelsey was a big thing which got us over-the-line. He was brilliant on-and-off-the-pitch and he was a bit part of what achieved over the first 18 months.
“People say I used to sign a lot of players, but when things aren’t right I go with my guy instinct. There are different ways you can go about it. You can stay faithful and see if it works out. But I just feel when things aren’t right and you can get better, I’ll always look to try to do that. It is always for the sake of the team and winning games. In the main it mostly went right. It is never personal. It is always about the club and if you can improve a certain position by signing a player to make us successful then I’m going to do that because my job as manager is to make the team successful.
“That summer (2014) was a big one and it was the first time as a manager that I could go out and mould a team into how I wanted to play rather than scrapping around to get people binned out of other clubs, if that makes sense. The recruitment was good and I don’t just mean on-the-pitch, I mean off it as well. We had a great set of lads and the team spirit gelled straightaway and we had a great season. We had a fantastic spine to that team – people like Sam Denton, Lee Morris, Stef Holt who was brilliant. We added people like Anton Foster and Steve Istead and they were superb lads on and off the pitch. They were real characters and winners and players like that do half the job for you. They’re so influential. It was a great team and the biggest regret I’ve got from my time with Shaw Lane is that we didn’t get to Wembley because I think we were good enough that year (2015). We just didn’t get the luck in the end (in the quarter-final replay at Glossop). We beat some brilliant teams along the way, Shildon, Runcorn Linnets, the holders West Auckland away from home and we just didn’t get the breaks against Glossop. Kelvin Lugsden, who I later signed, should have been sent off in the first game after ten minutes when he pulled Lee Morris down. It was a clear sending off and then he goes and equalisers. Then going into the replay we had a few injuries, Stevie Istead being one. We were two minutes away from winning that day and in the end luck ran out on us.
“Winning the league (NCEL Premier Division) was a massive achievement because the Counties was so strong that year. It was so competitive. Tadcaster were a fantastic team. Cleethorpes were a fantastic team. Worksop had some tremendous players. Heanor even had a good team. I was really proud of us that season because there was a lot of pressure on us. Without going into too fine detail, the money being paid at Shaw Lane was never what people speculated being totally honest. There’s no doubt we had a budget good enough to win that league, but some of the figures that we bandied around with Tadcaster and Worksop especially, I don’t think we weren’t far off each other. But that’s open to speculation.
“People are open to their opinions when they say I’ve only won things with money. There is always a tinge of jealously as well. I look at manager’s in our league (National North) with money and I think fair enough because it is hard to manage that as well. Look at Salford’s and Fylde’s who have gone up with money and it is difficult to deal with it because you bring more ego’s into your dressing rooms. There is huge expectation too. When I was the Shaw Lane manager every single week someone wanted to beat you and you’re always someone’s cup final. You’re also always expected to win and when teams beat you they celebrated like they had won a cup final. Every season we were expected to get promoted and that brings pressure itself. It is tough to be in that environment. I’ve had the different sides to manage. At Glasshoughton I had next to nothing money-wise. I had Ossett where there was no expectation and then Shaw Lane where you are expected to win promoted. I’ve sampled all sides of it, even with the West Yorkshire League with Kellingley as well.
“The following season I think we got the record points total without going up (in the NPL Division One South). It was an unbelievable season. I think we broke records for goals and we beat Stafford the champions twice. Ultimately the pitch did us that year. We were playing catch-up and we did so well to take it to the last day. We won so many games and I had a feeling we would be tired mentally and physically going into the play-offs which proved when we lost to Coalville in the final.
“What happened the following season with Dan Wilkinson’s passing was very traumatic. He is part of the history of Shaw Lane and he will stay with me forever. We always felt we were playing for Dan that season and to the group it will always be a special season because of Dan and we won the league for him. That night at Brighouse is one I will never forget. It was one of the worst nights of my life. I was the one who saw his mum and dad coming across the car park (at the hospital) and their faces will stay with me forever. It is horrendous what happened and it will stay with us forever.
“We played on the following Saturday and I took a lot of advice from people close to me because it was the hardest period of my management career. I was hurting and going through all sorts of emotions and I had to stand up in front of a group of men and manage, lead and take them to where we went to. It was difficult because I started to think whether I wanted to be there and what the best thing to do was because it was such a bad time. I was so proud of everyone at the club because we all pulled together and we got through it. I remember saying a few weeks afterwards that he would be always be with us and we need to do it for him. That season will always be remembered for Dan and it was nice from a playing point of view that we won the league and the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup to show how much he meant to us. Winning both trophies were very emotional, especially when we won the league because his family were there.
“Promotion put us in the Premier Division of the Northern Premier League and at the start of the season I didn’t think it would be my last few months at the club. There were a few problems with the ground which were disappointing and worried me, but I was assured that everything would be sorted and we moved to Athersley Rec. I genuinely thought if we get the players I wanted in that we could win the league again. The group was so strong mentally so I fancied our chances.
“Shaw Lane were getting interest in the league and locally and a lot of people were talking about us, but nationally with the FA Cup that’s when it picked up. We had beat Lancaster who were strong at the time, we beat Blyth who were a strong team in the National North and when we beat Barrow on that Sunday that’s when it started to kick off in terms of the publicity. It was great for everyone involved. I was delighted when I heard it was going to be a TV game. It is something you always dream about. A lot of people worked so hard behind the scenes at Shaw Lane, not just Craig Wood and that game was a reward for them. It is certainly one if not the top highlight of my time at Shaw Lane because it gave us national recognition.
“It was difficult to prepare for the game, but what we had was consistency. We rarely changed our formation and we had players who knew their jobs and that’s why we had the success we had for two or three years. I think we were top of the league at the time so everything was going well after a slow start. We had kicked on and we were flying.
“The FA Cup was there on the Thursday and it was special for everyone to have their photos with it and on the day Athersley Rec’s ground looked totally different. There were temporary stands up and it was rammed.
“Mansfield obviously took the lead and then Lee Bennett equalised and we were on top. I think he also hit the post. If we had gone 2-1 up before half-time I think we’d have kicked on and won the game. The turning point was when Ryan Serrant pulled his groin. We knew he had a groin problem going into the game, but he didn’t want to miss it. So two minutes before half-time I had to bring him off. From hitting the post and having to change the team, that’s when we missed our chance.
“Danny Rose who got both Mansfield’s second half goals, lived three or four streets away from Athersley’s ground. They were unbelievable strikes and his second goal won the goal of the round competition, the overhead kick. At the least the goals which won for them were two really good goals that we couldn’t do anything about. One was a header and the other a bicycle kick.
“I was with Shaw Lane for about another three weeks when Boston made an approach. Earlier in the season there had been a couple of clubs interested in me. They were in the National League, but at the time I was genuinely happy and had no intention of leaving. We were top and doing well in the FA Cup. The turning point was the midweek game after the Mansfield game and when Boston came in it felt like the right move to make and I’ve never regretted coming to Boston because it is a great job to have. My chairman is incredible, the fanbase is amazing and there’s going to be a new stadium and fingers crossed I can bring some success here. If I’ve done anything right in my career I’ve known when the right time to leave and take on new challenges is. I think it was ready for Shaw Lane to have a new manager as well. I had given it everything. They were good for me and I was good for them and I loved it there. It was still a big decision to join Boston because don’t forget that they were bottom of the league when I arrived and Shaw Lane were top of the league below. Boston is a very long way from where I live and it was a tough job with a massive fanbase. As I had to finish my job as a teacher was a big decision. I felt I had worked so hard to get this opportunity that I didn’t want to look back with regret and I’ve not got one.
“Craig Wood was a winner and it shone through. We both wanted to win and we were both grumpy if we lost. It was a good relationship because we both wanted the same things and we would give it everything to get them. He backed me all the way and gave me the tools. I pushed the boundaries, but he helped and supported me. He saw the progression, the better grounds and he wanted more of it. He was very similar to me when I started my managerial career. The entire club was the same. But it came to a point where the club hit a ceiling and he needed help and unfortunately there was none forthcoming.
“I was massively upset and disappointed when Shaw Lane folded. It was a big part of my life and helped me get to where I am now and for a club not to exist anymore it is sad. There was a lot of people behind the scenes that helped Craig like Doug (O’Connor) and Dave Exley and for it to end for them was so sad. It is strange because you like to follow your old clubs and go watch the odd game, but you can’t with Shaw Lane because there aren’t there anymore. It is sad when you think of it like that. We were on National TV and six months later the club was gone. The Mansfield game should have been the platform to build on.
“For me personally, it is about progressing. I have an unbelievable chairman who is so supportive. I’ve learnt so much like dealing with a huge fanbase at home. It is different environment to my other clubs. Most of the team is on contract so I’ve become a different manager. Lower down when you’re dealing with non-contract players you could move them in and out whereas I realise here you have to do more tactical and training work. I’ve had to adapt. I started in reserve team football with Pontefract and managed in the West Yorkshire League, Counties, Northern Premier League and now National North and I know all the adjustments you have to make. It is a different type of management to what I was doing three or four years ago. You have to become a different coach and manager.
“It has been amazing to manage in the National North, going to places like York City. You look at some of the managers you’re coming up against like Steve Watson who played in the Premier League. I’ve worked my way and they’ve come down and there are some good challenges. It is just a shame that the season ended because I fancied us to get promoted.
“I hope my managerial journey keeps going and progressing, ideally with Boston. I look at the Cowley brothers who have gone through having started at a low base. Neil Warnock also did. These are people who worked in Non League environments and worked their way up. It shows there is a pathway if you work hard enough. They have all worked hard and they have all had a bit of luck and fate along the way.”
Craig Elliott was interviewed by James Grayson