BOLTON hero Nicky Hunt has started his management career in the TENTH tier of British football.
The 42-year-old spent a decade at The Reebok, before spells at Accrington Stanley, Leyton Orient and Crewe.
But he has dropped down into non-league to kickstart his coaching career and is now leading the dugout at his local club Daisy Hill FC in the North West Counties, Division One North.
The former defender explained: “I grew up literally five minutes’ walk down the road, and my parents still live in Daisy Hill, so for me, it’s really close to home.
“I came here to watch the team as a kid, so I’ve got an affiliation with this football club.
“It was a family club back then, and it’s even probably more of a family club now.
“The fans, the committee members and everyone involved at the club, they just love it to a point where it’s become their lives, which is what I’m all about football-wise.
“ I put everything into it, whenever I’m into the coaching or the playing side.
“The way the club is run now, with the new sponsorships they’ve got, I can only really see it going one way.”
Daisy Hill have enjoyed an upturn in fortune after appointing a Twitch streamer who ran the team on the Football Manager computer game took over.
Aaron Hunt – who regularly streams online with his pal and darts wonderkid Luke Littler – said: “Everyone at the club is really looking forward to working with Nicky.
“He’s a local lad who had a brilliant playing career at the top level.
“He holds a UEFA A-Licence, and knows the local non-league scene, too, so he’s got great experience at all levels of the game.
“We believe that he is definitely the right man for Daisy Hill, and that there are going to be some exciting times ahead for everyone who follows the club, starting on Saturday when we host Nelson.”
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