Two promotion pushes and an East Riding Senior Cup Final triumph is not a bad record for a rookie manager who was unexpectedly thrown into the sink or swim environment of management nearly two years ago.
Bridlington Town chief Brett Agnew had been terrorising Toolstation NCEL Premier Division defences until a torn ACL, fractured kneecap and pulled medial meniscus brought his playing career to a shuddering halt at the age of 29 in 2018. Even then management was not in the short-term plan.
The Scotsman, who was a goal-scoring machine for Brid, West Calder United, Rutherglen, Glencairn, Hull United and North Ferriby, was handed a way back into the game as a member of Curtis Woodhouse’s Bridlington coaching staff – a gesture that still means a lot to him.
Come early September of 2018, Woodhouse resigned following a defeat to Athersley Rec and Agnew was crowned as caretaker manager. Three weeks later his position was made permanent.
“I’d have said you were mad because I would have hoped to be still playing,” Agnew, 31, tells Non League Yorkshire when asked what he would have thought if he had been told three years ago that he would be manager of Brid in 2020.
“It was just unfortunate that the injury I had was so severe. I’ve tried to come back, but it is just not right. It won’t ever be the same. I did it in a pre-season friendly, but I didn’t think it was serious so I kept playing on taking painkillers.
“I played a full season thinking it was a minor injury, but it was one of the worse you could do.
“Curtis helped me out because you know sometimes when you can bad injuries it can affect your mental health as well. It was massive for me because I didn’t want to miss out on the changing room environment and the normality of Saturday’s and games.
“I’m friends with Curtis and he knew I might struggle having to give up playing He’s had a few injuries and he knew because of the kind of character I am the mindset I would have.
“He phoned me as soon as I came out of my operation and offered me the chance to come back (on the coaching staff) because I think he knew that little things like that can get your confidence up and the spirits to fight it.
“It was a nice touch from Curtis because if he’d waited any longer I could have had a bad spell. I probably owe the management thing to Curtis really.”
Life has never been the same again for the Agnew family once as the ex-striker accepted chairman Peter Smurthwaite’s offer to be caretaker manager following Woodhouse’s exit.
Jake Day’s extra-time winner against FA Vase favourites Consett was the start of a run of results any interim boss would dream of. Although it included one draw with Harrogate Railway, Brid stunned eventual runaway champions Worksop Town with a 3-2 win at Sandy Lane after Nathan Modest scored late-on.
The 4-1 victory over Hall Road Rangers completed the surge and the job was his. However, Agnew admits he wasn’t quite prepared for the workload. Any Non League manager says you never switch off and balancing all commitments is an impossible task and the Brid boss is no different.
“I’ve really enjoyed it and it has been tough because you’re also dealing with work, kids and family issues,” he says.
“The phone is always busy and I’ve had about three divorces since taking the job! It is hard, especially for the wife. As a player I was never someone when a game is finished I never thought about it again. That’s not me. I used to think about it all the time and it used to grate on me. I always used to think ‘next game I can do better’.
“But as a manager you don’t get to sleep. You’re waking up thinking about things and next thing you’re on the phone as soon as you come home from work. I pretty much went from a no pressure role (in football) to a 24/7 manager’s job overnight when I wasn’t expecting it or planned for it. It was a shock to the system for the wife and me.
“I didn’t really realise it wasn’t going to be as full on as it is. But I think if you get thrown in the deep end you learn a lot more.
“I definitely got thrown into a sink or swim environment and the first game was even harder as we played against Consett who were the favourites for the FA Vase.
“It was definitely a baptism of fire. I know I’m a confident person and I’m confident in my own abilities, but I also have Anthony Bowsley as my assistant and he has some fantastic things in his locker coaching-wise and he’s really good with the lads.
“I had played with a lot of the lads and we knew could get the best out of them and for two years we have. This year we’ve brought in Joe Lamplough on board and he’s a massive for us because he has great coaching ability and is great with the lads as well.
“I think this year is a really good year for us and Pete (Smurthwaite) has backed us again to get some better quality in and hopefully things can start changing on-the-field.”
Results have never really been a problem for Agnew’s Brid. The Seasiders only lost five times in the league up to the abrupt ending last season and during the 2018/19 campaign Brid were beaten on just seven occasions after Agnew replaced Woodhouse.
Fro Agnew, the toughest aspect of the job has been man-management.
“Some of the lads still thought I was a player (when I took the job) so they didn’t have the level of respect,” he says.
“Once we hit the ground running and I laid down my authority, the lads have been fantastic. It was massively important I laid down my authority. It has been a really good dressing room for two years and this year has topped it off as I think it is an even better changing room.
“I’m a firm believer in that people management is the hardest job you’ll have to do because no-one is the same. There’s certain things you have to do with some players and it is so difficult. You’re not just managing a team, you’re managing 21 individuals who aren’t the same. That’s the hard part, trying to gel it together without losing the respect.
“If you’re too strict you lose a level of respect and if you’re too weak you lose a level of respect. It is so difficult to try and get the fine balance. I don’t want to blow my own trumpet, but I think I’ve done a really good job and Bows has been testament to that because he has been massive and so was Thommo (Mike Thompson) who has gone to manage Beverley.”
For a young manager, Agnew has great support around him. Vill Powell, the Brighouse Town, has said that when he was looking for a manager’s role, he was told to pick the chairman rather than the club.
Many would say Agnew could not have a better chairman as Mr Smurthwaite is regarded as one of the best around Non League Football. Considering how much rookie Agnew’s appointment was a departure from Mr Smurthwaite’s previous appointees – Mitch Cook, Gary Allanson, Ash Berry, Tim Hotte, and Woodhouse – who all had huge managerial experience, it shows how much faith he had in him.
“Pete’s brilliant and we have a good rapport,” he says.
“What he does around the club and what he’s done for the club and the local community, in Bridlington and Hull, is amazing. He sponsors 40 or 50 different sports and teams. He’s a great person to have around and he’s probably the best chairman in the league, give or take a couple. He has helped me and he knows when to bring the reins in. You can get a bit giddy and ahead of yourself and he pulls you back down to earth.
“It was really nice of Pete to then see something in me to let me take over from Curtis, all be it temporary at first, but then we hit the ground running, I never thought it (management) would come about, but I’m really glad I did because it has given me a new outlook towards football.”
Support since September 2018 has not just come from Mr Smuthwaite.
“I spoke to Curtis a lot and I had a few chats with Leon Sewell who is the Hall Road manager,” he says.
“I spoke to Gary Allanson who was manager before (Woodhouse) at Bridlington. It was nothing in-depth, just chats about what I would need to do. Craig Ogilvie was Harrogate Railway manager at the time and he really helped me and was very kind. He used to message me a lot to support me.
“Wayne Benn, Ian Richards and Brett Marshall were all really nice messaging me and giving me advice. That’s why I have massive respect for them. These guys have been there and done it. Although I am confident in my own ability, it definitely helps when you have people giving you advice.”
Now he has firmly has the management bug, Agnew is ambitious and is focussed on climbing the leagues – with taking Brid back into the NPL for the first time since 2008 being one target.
“Yeah I do want to go higher, that’s the goal now,” he says.
“I’ve got another baby on the way, but when we get into next year I’m going to have to start doing my coaching badges because I haven’t got any. I need to get into that and do the dirty work. I’ve got years ahead of him to get to where I want to be.
“Bridlington’s a brilliant club to learn my trade at, but my aspirations are to take them higher or if I can’t take them higher, I want to go higher.
“It is something I want to do and I want to see what that next level is like.”
Bridlington’s first league game of the season is on the 19th September, almost Agnew’s second anniversary as the Seasiders boss. Brid and Agnew hope it is the start of a special year.
If you have enjoyed this interview, please consider making a donation to the not-for-profit organisation NLY Community Sport which provides sport for children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. CLICK HERE to visit the JustGiving page.
There is a video at the bottom of the page showing our work.
NLY Community Sport, run by James Grayson and Connor Rollinson, has always had combatting social isolation at the top of our objectives when running our Disability Football teams so now as we slowly return to ‘action’, our work will play an important role in reintroducing our players, who have disabilities and learning difficulties, back into society.
We have six teams, a mixture of Junior and Adult teams – Nostell MW DFC, Pontefract Pirates, Selby Disability Football Club and the South Yorkshire Superheroes (Barnsley) – across Yorkshire.
We have enjoyed great success over the past three years. Several of our players have represented Mencap GB in Geneva, including Billy Hobson from Selby and Greg Smith, whose story is quite inspiring.
Like most organisations, we have been affected financially by the Coronavirus and we have incurred losses which we cannot recover. We have not been hit as badly as other organisations, but we do need raise £2000 to put us back at the level we were at in mid-March and enable us to make a difference once again to our players’ lives in the future, without having financial worries. Several of our players are suffering from effects of the lockdown and we are determined to be in the strongest position possible to provide services for them.
Any amount raised above £2000 will be put towards new projects (when the world returns to normal) designed to further benefit people with disabilities and learning difficulties. You can learn more about the organisation HERE and on our Facebook page.
Watch the video below to see highlights from our three years as an organisation. The video was produced for our players at the end of March to remind them of good memories from the last three years.
