OLD PALS GIVE JOHN A ROOST

NEW Buxton manager John McGrath is calling on friends in high places as the ambitious Bucks gear up for a first-ever season of fulltime football.

- Chris Dunlavy

The former Aston Villa, Doncaster and Burton midfielder was appointed this week after eight years at Mickleover and has been tasked with leading the National League North side into a bold new era.

By his own admission, full-time management is a step into the unknown, but McGrath is getting guidance from some of the best in the business.

Nigel Clough, who has just won promotion to League One with Mansfield, signed McGrath for Burton in 2007 and has remained a close personal friend ever since.

Another former Brewers boss – ex-Premier League full-back Gary Rowett – has managed almost 400 games in the Championship with Birmingham, Derby, Stoke and Millwall.

“I saw Nigel about a month ago,” says the 44-year-old, who played 247 games for Burton and won promotion to the EFL in 2009.

“He invited me down to the Mansfield training ground, which was very kind. We had a good couple of hours, a cup of tea and a chat. We’re still pretty close.

“We were a very hard-working team at Burton. No superstars, just seven or eight out of ten every week. We were a decent footballing side, but, first and foremost, Nigel set us up to win games. To be fit and to outwork the opposition.

“He’s a great manager with massive pedigree and the history that family have in football – I feel very privileged to be privy to that.