Manager Joe Conneely says reaching the milestone of 200 games at Hinckley AFC is an achievement he’s extremely proud of.
Having first joined as Courtney Hunter-Belford’s assistant in the summer of 2020, Conneely then took over the manager’s job in 2022 after AFC lost the United Counties Division One play-off final.
He has been manager ever since, including a spell as joint boss when Hunter-Belford returned, and together they guided the club to the Midland League Cup trophy in 2023, and the Division One title last season.
Now manager in his own right again, he reflected on his near-five years at the club, and said that although he had an idea of what it would be like when he first joined, the reality has surpassed those expectations.
He said: “I knew I was coming into a brilliant football club. I had a bit of a taste of it when I was at Copsewood, and we played against Hinckley. The away following that day (even though we won 3-2!) told me I’d be coming into a great club. So I thank Courtney for giving me the call and asking me to come in.
“And I’ve loved every minute of it. Of course there are moments that you detest, and you scratch your head, but if we didn’t love it then we wouldn’t do it. I’m honoured to be here, I want to see what we can do and keep pushing.”
This weekend, Conneely will become the first person, player or staff, to reach that double-century landmark in the 11 years of Hinckley AFC. That, and the progress the club has made during those 200 matches, make him “extremely proud” but he insists there’s still more to come.
“200 games is a good feat for nowadays, it doesn’t happen much any more when lots of players and managers come and go. I’m 32 now so I came in here when I was 27. I’m a young manager, I’m going to make mistakes because I’ve still got loads to learn.
“We’ve had a good run, we’ve always been there and competitive. The first year got curtailed, but then we had two play-off seasons, a League Cup win, a title win and now we’re still in with a sniff of the play-offs deep into March in our first season at step five.
“We’ve come a long way and I’m extremely proud, but we’re not finished yet.”
His five years have seen a big turnover in the playing squad, in particular after the play-off final defeat to Belper in 2022, and again last summer. It means he’s had a lot of players to work with, and he picked out his top three.
“Tom Weale’s probably been the best player I’ve had over the five years, an absolute credit to work with. I still remember his last-minute penalty at home to OJM, just before Christmas 2023.
“Second we’ll go Lewis Rankin, who’s close to taking the club’s appearance record. That takes some doing, for someone to want to stay that long is testament to him. He frustrates some people because he’s not going to do the doggy stuff, but when he’s fit he’s a fantastic technical player.
“And third, I’ll say getting Preston Bitemo out of the youth team was an unbelievable find. He was outstanding, and any midfielder who played next to him said it was so easy because of him.”
So far, Conneely’s impressive record reads 127 wins from his 199 games, with 585 goals scored and, most importantly, two trophies won. He says he’s not ready to call it a day yet, so what next?
“Just keep this club progressing. We’ve still got five games left to try and achieve something extra special.
“This is our first season at this level, so I think some people’s expectations from the outside need to change, some need to look at us and go ‘they’re doing alright’. This is a project here that we keep building, we’ve got good players coming through the youth team.
“It’s easy to throw the towel in when things get tough, and we’ve had a tricky couple of weeks. But I’ve been in harder situations than this, so here’s to the next 200! We’ll keep pushing and see where we can take it.”
