I'M READY TO MAKE A MARK

MARK Dacey almost turned his back on football in November. Now the 36-year-old is setting his sights on managing in the EFL.

- By Chris Dunlavy

Dacey left Sevenoaks a year ago to take charge at Step 6 newcomers SE Dons, a former Sunday League team with vast support on social media.

Brutally sacked just six months later, Dacey was so hurt that he contemplated quitting to focus on his full-time job fitting fire doors-only for a move to Rayners Lane in January to prompt a dramatic reversal of fortunes.

The Isthmian South Central side won two thirds of their games to surge away from relegation trouble, and capped their resurgence by lifting the Middlesex Senior Cup.

And those achievements didn’t go unnoticed, with a move to Premier division outfit Dulwich Hamlet in May providing Dacey with his first-ever opportunity to manage at Step 3.

"I was ready to pack it all in," he admits. "Stepping down two levels to Step 6 and then getting sacked was a big hit to the ego. I think I just hit a point where I was like 'You know what? I don't think this is for me anymore'. My time was done.