Field Turf Manager of the Year is John Askey (Macclesfield Town)
John Asky says his FieldTurf Manager of the Year award belongs to everyone at Macclesfield Town after a fairytale season.
The man the Silkmen fans call Sir John was crowned top boss after a wonderful season for the club he calls his own.
When the season kicked off in August, Askey was more likely to be thinking about survival in Non-League‘s top tier.
With a tight budget and only four players signed up from last season it’s fair to say a title party wasn’t exactly in the diary.
But by April they’d done just that. With one of the division’s most modest budgets, Askey assembled a side forged together by sprit and determination.
It was a remarkable achievement for the club as they returned to the Football League after six years away.
So who else could get the manager of the year gong?
“It’s fantastic,” Askey said. “I think it’s more a team effort than an individual effort but it’s great and it tops off a fantastic season. To get an award like this is amazing.
Legend
“To be at a club for 30-odd years and to get them back into League football; I never thought we would get back into League football unless we had a big investment – which we haven’t had.
“To achieve it means so much to me. It means so much to a lot of people and I think whatever club wins the National League gives the rest hope that anyone can do it.”
Askey is a Macclesfield legend right back from his playing days where he helped them into the Football League back in 1997. But this one topped what he’d ever achieved on the pitch.
“I’ve won this league twice as a player and to go and win it as a manager, under the circumstances that we’ve won it, means more than when I was a player,” he said.
“I’ve enjoyed it more, where we’ve worked so hard in the first place to get back, just means everything and I couldn’t be more pleased.”
A pivotal four days came when they beat Aldershot and Tranmere back-to-back – and they never let it slip.
After they sealed the championship with a 2-0 away win at Eastleigh, the players enjoyed a sing-song home.
Achieve
“The Silkmen are going up with a tenner in the bank,” was belted out – and Askey says silverware is better than anything money can buy.
“It doesn’t matter what level you play at, you want to be the best you can be, whether that’s playing at the very bottom and playing Sunday morning football or the top level,” Askey said.
“Whatever you do in life, you want to achieve something and that’s what I tried to get through to the players.
“They’ve got this on their CV for life and they’ll always be remembered at the football club.
“Some things are better than money.”
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