‘I won at Wembley yet now I'm much happier'

TEN years ago, Dave Bayliss led unfancied Barrow to a remarkable victory over Stevenage to lift the FA Trophy at Wembley. Three years, one relegation and the acrimonious departure of co-manager Darren Sheridan later, he was sacked.

- Chris Dunlavy

Since then, nothing. The 43-year old – whose CV also includes a promotion from Conference North and two appearances in the FA Cup third round – simply vanished from the football landscape.

“I’ve had offers to go back in,” explains the former Rochdale and Luton defender. “But the truth is, I don’t want to be a manager again. Not at any level. Not for any money.”

Bayliss, who spent six years in charge at Holker Street, is that rarity in football. A man for whom the bite of the managerial bug led not to a life-long dependency but a hangover so bleak that abstinence was the only option.

“I was 29 when I got player-manager,” says Bayliss. “You don’t get coached how to be a manager. There’s no easing-in period. You’re just there, and you take what’s thrown at you.

“At the time, I loved it. I made some great friends. Had some great moments. Even now, I feel very privileged to have managed a club like Barrow. I wouldn’t change it, at least not much.

“But, looking back, the toll it took was enormous. The club had no money. We had lads not being paid. The stress was constant.