Third time lucky? Ady Pennock gets start at Barrow off to a flyer

By Matt Badcock
ADY PENNOCK has never been one for sitting in the stand after taking on a new job.
There’s mucky work to be sorted at Barrow and the new Bluebirds boss wanted to get his hands dirty straight away.
After meeting his players at 1.30pm before last Saturday’s game against Aldershot Town, it was straight down to business.
Less than four hours later, the 46-year-old had the first win under his belt. Small steps, yes, but it was a good start as he looks to claw Barrow away from danger.
“I did it when I took over at Forest Green as well,” Pennock says. “They said, ‘Do you want to sit in the stand?’ I said, ‘No, not really’. I was appointed on the Tuesday afternoon, we had a game in the evening, met the players and went from there. I think it’s just a fashion thing. I can’t see any point in waiting.
“I’d seen Barrow at Ebbsfleet and Chester, we tinkered with the team a little bit – the boys responded very well.”
Pennock is Barrow’s third manager of the season and appears set to bring in former Norwich striker Grant Holt, who spent two years with the Bluebirds early in his career, as player-coach.
­Paul Cox resigned after five games and replacement Micky Moore, hampered by an injury-ravaged squad, lost his job following the FA Cup defeat to Shaw Lane.
But in Pennock they have someone who was managing in League One at Gillingham earlier this season.

And he is well versed in all things National League. His last job in this division was 18 months ago at Forest Green Rovers. He led them to second in the table behind champions Cheltenham Town before, surprisingly, getting sacked a week before the play-offs.
“It was tough, honestly, it hurt me more than the Gillingham one because I wasn’t expecting it,” he says. “We came to an amicable end at Gillingham but the Forest Green one hurt, I promise you. It hurt the family as well.
“But I don’t want to say anything bad about them. The chairman, Dale Vince, and his directors were top drawer. They made their decision and I had to get on with it.
“But it did hurt. I put a lot of time and effort into it. To be where we were, a week away from the play-off semi-final, it was totally out of the blue.
“You learn from it. Forest Green are a fantastic club and I was genuinely chuffed they got promoted last season. I felt I had a little hand in getting them there and I was really chuffed for the fans.”
Rovers celebrated at Wembley back in May after beating Tranmere Rovers but the year before, when Pennock had been dismissed, their final experience was different as they fell to Grimsby Town. He was in the stands for that one.
“I was still hurting but I just wanted to be there,” he says. “For the players more than anything else. It was us and Cheltenham all season really and we couldn’t win the league with about five games to go. So I didn’t put out a full- strength team for the last five games because I wanted everyone prepared and fit for the play-offs. We drew three and lost two of the last five and the chairman and directors said they were releasing me because they didn’t think they’d win the play-offs with me in charge. I was flabbergasted. But that was their decision. I wished them all the best. You have to move on otherwise it eats away at you.”
Pennock says a strong family is needed for managers in a volatile industry.
“You need a good family behind you,” he says. “I’ve been away at Stoke, Forest Green, now I’m at Barrow – behind my back they might be doing cartwheels that I’m gone! But I’ve got a very strong family – I just need to buy more shirts for the children and I’ve got a grandson now.”
Pennock coached in the Premier League at Stoke City under Tony Pulis and learned that players at all levels are generally wired up the same.
“The difference is they’re not going home in a Lamborghini or a Porsche!” he says, of Non-League players. “But we’re all human beings. I treat people how I want to be treated myself. Man-management is very important. I want to get to know the boys individually and I’ll be doing that here at Barrow.”
But why jump back into the management fire pit and the insecurity it brings with it?
“People think you’re crazy, especially in this day and age – you haven’t got long to be a manager at certain clubs,” he says. “But it’s a great feeling winning games or when you prepare a team and a set play comes off, or a good move comes off and you win. I like the pressure of being a number one – win, lose or draw.
“I learned a lot under Tony Pulis, the way he builds his teams, he’s very underestimated, he’s been fantastic at a lot of the clubs he’s been at. Peter Taylor was another one, he was top drawer, and even going back to when I was an apprentice with Ken Brown at Norwich and the way he dealt with people. Then Dave Stringer, Mike Walker – they all have different traits. But they’re all good people.”
Pennock says seeing his players up close and personal has reinforced his belief they can get out of trouble.
“Results change things,” Pennock says. “Winning Saturday meant it was easy to come in this week and take the first training session on Monday. That’s great, the boys are buzzing and they were buzzing after the game in the changing room.
“That’s what I said to them, ‘This is a good feeling. You’ve got to enjoy your wins’. It’s all about winning games. By hook or by crook, we’ve got to do that because of the position we’re in. There will be times when we have to roll up our sleeves and go to away games on a Tuesday and grind out results.
“But, more importantly, on Saturday, what I was pleased with was we could have folded when it was 2-1. Scott Rendell scored early in the second half and Aldershot are a very good team.
“I like Gary Waddock a lot, he’s a good manager. They’ll be there or thereabouts.
“So you’re thinking, ‘Here we go’. But we showed a lot of character and we had to dig in.
“It was great to get the three points but it was great the way they kept calm, didn’t panic, and something I really enjoyed seeing. It’s small steps.”