Exclusive:Hebburn Town FC boss Daniel Moore ready to prove himself against former Premier League stars

In many ways, Hebburn Town manager Daniel Moore is the exception when it comes to North East managers competing in the top two levels of the non-league game.

At Hartlepool United, who will visit Hebburn on Tuesday night, you have Lee Clark, who made 184 Premier League appearances during his playing career and became a firm favourite with boyhood club Newcastle United and Fulham. Former Sunderland, Wigan Athletic and Middlesbrough midfielder Lee Cattermole, now manager of Gateshead, made over 270 top flight appearances during his own on-field career.

Hebburn’s Northern Premier League title win means Moore’s men will face South Shields, Darlington and Spennymoor Town in the National League North and their managers all played in the Premier League. Darlo boss Steve Watson leads the way with over 350 top flight appearances in the colours of the likes of Newcastle, Everton and Aston Villa. South Shields manager Mike Williamson follows with 134 appearances for Newcastle and Moors boss Tommy Miller boss made 37 Premier League appearances for Sunderland and Ipswich Town.

And then there is Moore.

Featuring in the youth ranks at Nottingham Forest and Mansfield Town and training with the senior players at the latter were the closest the Hornets boss got to the bright lights of professional football - although his story in the non-league game is something to showcase. An FA Vase winner with Spennymoor Town, Moore has also enjoyed success with Shildon as a player and manager before securing double Northern Premier League title glory by guiding Hebburn to the East Division and Premier Division titles over the last three seasons.

‘I will ask them questions’

Now he will come face-to-face with big names, big clubs and big budgets when the Hornets kick off their first ever season in the National League North next month - and Moore is relishing the learning curve that lies ahead of him.

He told The Gazette: “I love the fact that I will be facing these managers - and I have the upmost respect for what they achieved as players because it’s not easy to make it our level, never mind competing in the Premier League. But I will ask them questions because you never stop learning as a manager and I’d imagine, even in the Premier League, they would say that. It’s brilliant for me to go up against them knowing they have played under some world class managers in their time as a player.

“They will have taken things away from them and I am putting my team up against theirs - so it’s going to be a good experience for me and one I am going into with a clear picture of what I want to do. We will respect every manager and their team - but we will go into the season with the same attitude that we have always had.”

Progress

At the age of just 42, Moore already has a decade of managerial experience behind him and has already overseen over 400 games during his time in the dugout with Shildon and Hebburn. The aim remains the same as it was from day one, to progress into full-time management and to ensure his current employers continue their remarkable upturn in fortunes.

He said: “I always want to prove myself and I’ve said from day one, when I started managing ten years ago, that I want to prove myself and become a full-time manager at some point. That is still the aim and I’d love to take Hebburn that way.

“I see a lot of managers jump ship because they aren’t getting what they want - but I think we’ve helped build Hebburn into a club where things are done the right way, we are financially stable, we give youth a chance and we have progressed quicker than expected.

“But it’s at a rate that is sustainable and if I can leave the club in a better position, I’ll have done my job. I’ve got 400 games under my belt as a manager already and I’ve been around professional football earlier in my career as a player so I got a taste of it and how I want to be treated as a player, whether that’s non-league or above.”

Big impact

Tuesday’s home friendly with Hartlepool will see Hebburn test themselves against National League opposition for the second consecutive week.

It has already been a busy pre-season as Moore and assistant manager Mark Hudson put their side through their paces ahead of a truly historic season at the Trustmark Group Stadium. The meeting with Lee Clark’s side will be another step in the preparations for day one of the National League North season when Southport are the visitors to South Tyneside.

And Moore is absolutely determined to ensure his players are in peak physical shape to ensure they can make a big impact in the second tier of the non-league game.

“We look very fit and strong and my teams will always try and outrun other teams,” he explained. “People go on about stats at the top level and I think the running one is the first they look at because if you run harder than the opposition, you have a better chance of winning the game and will do so more often than not.

“Our players don’t and won’t run for the sake of it, I want them to run forward when they have the ball and when they haven’t they need to be really solid. We have spoken individually about what we want and that is the way it will be throughout the new season.”

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