Aaron Downes and Harry Pell on making their friendship a winning partnership with The Bulls, the challenge of managing semi-pro players, and the respect they hold for Cheltenham boss Steve Cotterill.
Watch the full interview with Aaron Downes and Harry Pell below:
What is your dream job? We’ll all have a unique vision spring to mind when that question is put to us. But Aaron Downes and Harry Pell’s current gig certainly made me feel a little envious.
“It’s been great. When you go to work every day with your best friend every day it is enjoyable. There’s been some stressful moments, but it’s been very enjoyable,” Pell told Sport and Life after the dust had settled on the pair keeping Hereford FC in the National League North on the final day of the season.
Downes landed his first ‘number one’ gig in the wake of his assistant manager’s role at Cheltenham disappearing when Steve Cotterill came in to replace Michael Flynn last year.
When Downes was offered the Hereford job who else to call but his pal Pell?
“When you go into managing you need someone who’s capable of doing the role, but you need somebody you can trust, who better to trust than your best mate?” Downes said.
“I knew we weren’t going to have a lot of coaching sessions, so I needed someone who’s going to bring energy, enthusiasm. We’re polar opposites. I’m a bit more sensible, inward thinking, whereas he’s full of energy,” Downes added.
Gruelling schedule
Energy was needed for everyone at Hereford. As the Bulls fought to stay up they faced 21 games in 70 days as winter gave way to spring. A gruelling schedule for professional players, it was even more taxing for semi-pros with day jobs.
“We had seven games in less than two weeks and we had a squad of nineteen. But credit to the players. In the ten week period we had officially three training sessions, but because they’re playing so many games it was more recovery based,” Downes explained.
Pell, who only retired due to injury earlier this year after his second stint at Cheltenham before a brief ill-fated spell at Bath, was impressed with how the squad managed their lives.
“The thing that people don’t understand looking is that these young men have to juggle family life. They’ve got children some of them. They’ve got wives, girlfriends, they’ve got jobs,”
“Some mornings they’re getting in at two, three o’clock and then they’re up for work the next day. It’s a credit to every single one of them because the schedule that we had was borderline not sustainable. It was so tough,” Pell said.
Life in the National League North
Life in the National League North sounds tough indeed. Pell and Downes as storied campaigners in the EFL through most of their playing days didn’t have to save energy for a day job.
But Downes says some players prefer to play a little further down the pyramid because overall they get a bigger income than they would being a pro in League Two.
“If you’re on eight, nine hundred, a thousand pounds a week and you’ve got a job alongside that it’s actually better money than the league. So some of them dropped down a little bit earlier, got a job, transitioned out of full-time football, but are actually earning good coin.”
A former pro who helped keep Hereford in the league was 39 year-old Andy Williams – he began at the original Hereford, Hereford United as a kid before playing for many respected clubs including Cheltenham Town and Swindon Town.
“Willo was absolutely fantastic. What a professional. What a guy,” Pell said, the respect clear in his voice.
“The standards he drove. He was absolutely superb right until the very end and he obviously retired.”
A phoenix club
Hereford FC is a phoenix club. It was founded days after Hereford United went to the wall in late 2014. It’s built on historic foundations but there was a strong Cheltenham flavour to the survival this season.
Downes and Pell’s friendship began at Whaddon Road – their relationship forged in the side’s promotion from the National League under Gary Johnson in 2016.
“It was a relationship built on success to start with, having a promotion. But there’s so much in between that has happened. Best man at my wedding,” Pell recounted.
In many ways Steve Cotterill’s fairytale return to save Cheltenham from relegation this season might sting a little for both men – one of Cotterill’s tough conversations was to tell Pell he was surplus to requirements and the change of manager had left Downes out of a job.
But it speaks volumes for Cotterill’s character that both men remain respectful and affectionate when speaking about him.
“Steve rung me one night and I had half an hour on the phone with him. It was very generous. And he’s done an unbelievable job with Cheltenham,” Downes said.
Pell was also full of praise for Cotterill.
“It’s a great football club that gave us an opportunity. The love for Cheltenham will never go. Great people there.
“As for Steve, I’ve got to say, as a player all you can ask for is honesty. And the way he dealt with me was very honest. When managers are like that you can’t help but have respect for them,” Pell added.
Just the start?
I enjoyed this conversation with Messrs Downes and Pell. It’s a great story so far and it’ll be one for football legend if the best mates can get Hereford moving up the leagues.
Football moves pretty fast. And it was great to see Harry looking so happy and healthy.
We’d originally recorded a conversation in the wake of his forced retirement following an injury in the early days of his move to Bath City. He’d seemed very down at that time and not sure if his future lay in football.
But then his best mate ‘Downesie’ rung and he now seems revitalised and loving life.
But this could be just the start. Hereford’s fan base is big – more than 4000 people showed up to watch the dramatic draw with Peterborough Sports on the final day.
So why can’t Downes and Pell lead them to the EFL and full-time football?
“Them scenes (on the final day). It looked like a football league club. Felt like a football league club. Absolute madness. And I loved every minute of it. We’ve got a job to do this summer to recruit well and to get a team on the pitch that Hereford can be proud of. It has got huge potential,” Pell enthused.
So, if you’re a Cheltenham Town or Gloucester City fan without a game on a Saturday next season how about taking a trip west to see the ex Robins trying to the Bulls charging up the pyramid?
