There is a significant achievement taking place in the Pitching In Southern League Premier Central this weekend as Paul Holleran takes charge of his 700th game at the Leamington helm.
It’s been quite a journey since his first match in charge, a 2-2 draw at Cambridge City back in November 2009.
“I took over on the Wednesday evening and then had a race to get a team together and prepare for what was a tough away trip on the Saturday,” recalled the likeable Holleran. “But we managed to battle out a 2-2 draw with Mark Bellingham and Luke Corbett on the scoresheet, if I remember correctly.
“To be honest, it was a sticky start and I never imagined to last this long in the job! A good lifespan for a manager is two or three years, which I’d had at my previous clubs, so to be still here over 14 years later, it’s something you are seeing less and less in modern football.
“Over time we’ve built an infrastructure and a culture and strengthened bonds. There have been a couple of occasions when I could have gone but didn’t and by the same token, there have been times when the club could have decided to go in a different direction, so it works both ways.
“But this job has been a good fit for me and my life and it has given me so much joy and pleasure over the years.
“There are so many happy memories; two promotions, three Birmingham Senior Cup wins at Molineux, St. Andrews and Villa Park, keeping the club at National League level for so long and helping in the development of a number of young players who have gone on to the professional game.
“We’ve beaten some big clubs along the way, the likes of Wrexham and Stockport County, but that play-off final victory of 2016/17 stands out most for me. What a fantastic football day that was as we beat Hitchin Town, ironically who we face this weekend, 2-1 after extra-time.
“I have so many wonderful memories to look back on and hopefully there are more still to come. I’ve still got a few more games left in the tank, maybe not another 700, but certainly a few more!
“I’ve still got that same buzz and enthusiasm for the game that I’ve always had. I knew following relegation at the end of last season that there was a big rebuilding job to be done here and I think the stability and my knowledge of this level has helped us.
“The aim is to remain in the mix over this final run of games. There are always strange results at this time of the season, but hopefully we have enough experience on and off-the-pitch to be able to deal with the pressure and make it a positive end to the season.
“The back bone to all of our successes over the years has been to have a core of what I would call solid non-League professionals alongside a sprinkling of talented youngsters.
“It’s a philosophy that has worked; we’ve seen the likes of Colby Bishop, Courtney Baker-Richardson, and Josh March progress into the professional game and do well, whilst people like Junior English, Joe Clarke and Jack Edwards have been around the place for a long time, setting good standards and showing the youngsters the way.
“Back at the start of my reign we had a lad called Gary Knight, he was a reliable central defender who did things properly and if you have people like that around, their good habits will spread to the younger lads.
“The reality is that I am getting older but my players are getting younger, so it’s extremely important to me that I have trusted, well-drilled senior players around me who know the structure and we’ve been fortunate to have that this season with the likes of Callum Stewart and Ewan Williams benefitting from sharing a dressing room with the likes of Tyrone Barnett, Theo Streete and Adam Walker.
“We’ve been able to create an enjoyable environment here over the years and it has certainly stood us in good stead.
“The supporters are also very important in what we do here. They have been a massive part of the journey and whilst it was disappointing to lose our National League North status, I think they have enjoyed the challenges that we have faced in the Southern League Premier Central.
“The structure of the League has changed since we were last at this level; there are a lot more local derbies now which, whilst making it trickier for recruitment, are always enjoyed by the fans.
“Life is never dull here because if we’re in The National League North, we’ll be battling it out to avoid relegation and if we’re in The Southern League, we’re usually up there pushing for promotion or the play-offs. I guess that’s also a factor in my longevity too!”
As a well-respected and solid football man, Paul Holleran deserves all of the praise he gets. There will, quite rightly, be plenty of media attention around his remarkable achievement; the BBC Football Focus team will be filming at Saturday’s game for a feature that will go out on Saturday, March 23rd – Non League Day – and many other local and national news outlets will want to tell this story which, sadly, is becoming all too rare in modern football.
“I look at what I have achieved here and it’s very special,” continued Holleran, whose own playing career started as a scholar at Birmingham City before two knee operations forced early retirement after spells at Alvechurch and Solihull Borough. “It was never planned to stay this long, but from where we were back then to where we are now, it’s been such a wonderful journey.
“Yes, there have been ups and downs along the way, but you’re going to get that in any job that you’re in for such a long period of time.
“I’m not looking too far beyond this season, to be honest. My focus is fully on these final nine games, starting on Saturday. I am looking forward to the run-in and all that comes with it; we’ll see where we are at the end of the season and then take things from there.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has been part of this with me, I couldn’t have done it without the love and support of so many people and to them I am truly grateful.”
Holleran’s early retirement from playing saw him turn to coaching from a young age and having been instrumental in setting up reserve and youth teams at Solihull, he then took on his first managerial role at Kings Norton Town before returning to Solihull, initially as assistant before taking on the manager’s role.
He had a hand in both Solihull and Halesowen Town winning promotion in 2003/04, taking over at the Yeltz part-way through the season. He has also managed Rushall Olympic, taking them to two play-off spots and the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
The Southern League sends its congratulations to Paul Holleran on his 700th game in charge of Leamington FC.
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