JUSTIN EDINBURGH: As a player I won silverware with Gazza... but as a manager I've had my car taken away and spent a decade working my way up from the bottom

PUBLISHED: 02:30 EST, 2 December 2013 | UPDATED: 04:32 EST, 2 December 2013

Justin Edinburgh played for Southend United, Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth during a 25-year career and is now manager of Newport County. The 43-year-old has taken a decade to become a Football League boss after choosing to do it the hard way, crafting his trade with a number of non-league clubs. In his debut Footballers' Football Column Edinburgh talks about the struggles he has faced with dodgy owners and reminisces about former team-mate Paul Gascoigne.

 

The Footballers' Football Column with Justin Edinburgh

As a player I spent the vast majority of my career in the Premier League and Championship, but when I took my first steps into management it was at my local club Billericay Town. Back then I didn’t think it would take me 10 years to become a Football League manager.

The trials and tribulations, and I’ve had a few, along the way haven’t just made me a better manager but a better person as well.

It’s given me a bigger outlook on life to know when there are times when football isn’t the most important thing. It’s hard for me to grasp that at times.

Working his way up: Justin Edinburgh has spent 10 years working his way to being a Football League manager

I’ve had some good success. The chairmen have been strikingly different along the way. I’ve had good ones and bad ones.

I’ve seen clubs go under. People lost their jobs. Towns lost their team. A lot of cities and towns revolve around their football club; when that goes it is hard to take.

It’s been a long road but an enjoyable one. I know how to manage a club top to bottom. It’s been a fantastic apprenticeship.

There was an element of me trying to rush this rise through earlier in my career though. I learned that I tried to jump too soon. I had a good chairman and good stability at Billericay. We’d just lost out in the play-offs and Fisher Athletic came along.

They were big spenders and had good players. I got success there quickly but the money dried up within a year.

From there I jumped into Grays Athletic, where I encountered a few problems.

Mick Wood was the chairman there. He wasn’t a bad person. He put a lot of money in but couldn’t help himself interfering and felt he could do the job better than the manager. I couldn’t work like that and left.

He wasn’t allowing the people employed to do their jobs. Mick actually tried to manage himself and realised it wasn’t easy when it came to picking teams rather than looking back in hindsight. We could all pick winning teams afterwards.

Rushden and Diamonds was then a difficult time between 2009 and the club folding in 2011. It almost wasn’t about the mismanagement by those running the club, but how those decisions affected other people.

It was upsetting. I had a car company come to knock on my door and take my car away. I ended up getting a couple hundred pounds out of the thousands I was owed. It wasn’t just wages, but for players I’d sold on to league clubs. It was a lot of money but there was nothing I could do about it.

Watching on: Edinburgh protests about a challenge during Newport's 3-2 win over Chesterfield on Sunday

Guiding the way: Edinburgh's Newport are just outside the play-off places in League Two

The way it all happened was disappointing because I did a very good job there on limited resources. It was on a downward spiral and I took them to the Conference play-off semi-finals where we eventually lost to the winners Oxford United. There were good cup runs that kept the club alive.

I always say that I would like to be treated how I would treat others – with honesty and respect. You don’t always get that. It is hard to take at times, but football isn’t the nicest environment to work in. There is more bad than good.

Above all that though, a lot of people lost their jobs. The town is without a club. There is a fantastic facility there that is run down and going to go to ruin. Time, effort and money is all history.

Players were left unpaid. They were promised their wages and continued to turn up without them. They never got them. What some don’t realise is at that level people are operating week-to-week with bills that haven’t been paid. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth. It happened to me, but it makes you stronger to be successful.

I started my playing career at Southend where we were sometimes paid late, so it isn’t as if I’d been in a Tottenham Hotspur bubble when I moved into management. I knew what it was about. But it isn’t until it happens when you realise how bad things can be.

I’ve had to revalue football. At non-league level a lot of people’s effort is voluntary. That brings you back down to earth.

There are people there who gives their lives to it. Not only are they unpaid but they would even put their own money in. It gives you a bigger perspective of what football is about.

The players and fans still have relationships. That is lost at the top end.

There are some tough nights. You train part-time, and only seven or eight lads would turn up because they’ve been kept behind at work or whatever reason. But there is big dedication from them. People say it’s a hobby but I’ve seen the ambition and the passion. There is a lot to learn from that.

Taking their chance: Nigel Clough spent 10 years at Burton before getting a Football League job while Shaun Derry was appointed manager of League Two Notts County as his first job

The decision to drop out of the league to manage arose purely because there were no opportunities. It was something I had to do. I don’t begrudge any ex-player or manager who get a chance in their first job. One of my best friends, Shaun Derry, has just got the Notts County job. I’m delighted for him.

You have to start where you’re given your opportunity. I would have liked it to have come a little bit quicker, but this is where I am. It might be that my ceiling is to manage in League Two, but I have visions and aspirations.

Looking back to those jumps into other clubs, I did learn from them – they were wrong. I’ve had opportunities to speak to clubs – and approaches – while I’ve been at Newport. But this is a brilliant club and a well-supported one. The people I work for are understanding and we have a great relationship.

Learning his trade: Edinburgh managed Rushden & Diamonds before they went out of business

One chance to leave came from a fairly good club in League One. But looking from the outside in it wasn’t in a stable position.

Excuse the cliche, but the grass isn’t always greener.

I still count myself as a young manager. I’m only 43, but I’ve had good success and grounding to start with. I look at what Nigel Clough has done and aspire to that. He was prepared to get his hands dirty at Burton Albion. When you see people like that getting the opportunity it makes you want to achieve it too.

I’ve witnessed both sides of the FA Cup. I’ve been on the end of the upset – when it’s difficult to take – but have had the elation as well. It’s a fantastic trophy. I’m very proud to take my Newport team to Kidderminster in the hope of a good run.

As we know with every upset there are failures and they are hard to take. They are always great occasions and really good days. It seems like the fans have more excitement and build-up to them more than any other league game.

On the up: Edinburgh guided Newport into the Football League and now wants to have an FA Cup run

You’ll look back at winning a trophy and can lift you at your lowest ebb. Reminiscing can make you believe again. It reminds you that you know how to win things.

It’s certainly a good memory for me and can spur you on. I don’t foresee ever winning the FA Cup with Newport! But you can draw on those experiences for other things.

I’ve always enjoyed it. As a player I had some really good times. In my first year at Tottenham we won it in 1991. That was the Gazza year. At times he won that for us single-handedly and carried us to the final.

Unfortunately we all know what happened with that unfortunate injury he got.

Good times: Edinburgh (back right) celebrates winning the 1991 FA Cup semi-final with David Howells, Steve Sedgley, Paul Gascoigne and Paul Stewart

It was a mistimed tackle and probably stopped him being the best player the world has seen.

That injury didn’t spark off-the-field problems because he got his big move to Lazio, but it certainly didn’t calm him down.

It is hard to comprehend what has happened to Gazza. It upsets me. I watched a programme on him recently and it affects you. For someone to have been such a genius and then to see his life now is heart-breaking.

He was so physically strong and an amazing footballer. To be a bag of bones now, so ill and be in the positions he finds himself in is hard to take.

Everyone is doing everything within their power to help him - that is the good thing. Football is like a big family.

High: Gascoigne celebrates his free-kick for Spurs against Arsenal in the 1991 semi-final

Low: Gascoigne sits injured on the pitch after a mis-timed tackle on Gary Charles in the 1991 FA Cup final

The PFA have been fantastic for him and Tottenham have a trust for former players and I think they paid to send him out to America. It gives you hope. He was a guy that served the club and put a lot of bums on seats. It was a minimal amount of money in that respect, but if it helps him back to a stable man it is money well spent.

I spent a year with Gazza at White Hart Lane. He was a loose cannon, that’s for sure. His behaviour was very up and down. He loved company and always wanted to be around players.

I can see his character now needing and craving company. He doesn’t want to be alone. I can see why he lived in hotels, because he knew there would be people about.

On the pitch he is the best player I have ever had the pleasure of playing with. He won games on his own, and I mean that. Sheer class.

You’re born what you’re born. People say ‘why can’t he educate himself?’ But we are what we are. We’re all different. He was born a lad who wanted to make everyone laugh and smile. I don’t see that as a bad trait.

He is an all-round good guy. Some people have taken advantage of that and some people haven’t.

Justin Edinburgh was speaking to Sportsmail on behalf of Sky Bet, the title sponsor of the Football League. They are giving away five pairs of tickets every day between now and Christmas with the Sky Bet Football League Advent Calendar.

To win, correctly identify the Sky Bet Football League star behind each door on the calendar, then let them know which team you want to see play. You’ll be entered into a draw and notified by email if you’re a lucky winner. For full terms and conditions and to play the game, visit www.skybet.com

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Spurs1882, FOD, 3 months ago

Didnt ever rate Edinburgh as a player too hot headed and seemed to have disciplinary problems but he has obviously got the right mentality to be a manager and seems to be doing well. long may it continue.

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markys, luton, United Kingdom, 3 months ago

never liked him as a player. snidey.

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xpat73, USA, 3 months ago

I enjoyed this column.

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Hunter, Valencia, Spain, 3 months ago

Me too mate, football is not just about the top few teams and it's always interesting to get an inside account which puts it all into perspective

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