Kennington are marking Dan Scorer’s decade in charge with a testimonial.
Scorer will manage a team made up largely of former Ton players in a match against the current squad.
It takes place at Homelands tonight (7.45pm) and entry is free.
Ton old boys set to return include prolific striker Gary Lockyer and former captain Gary Clarke.
Quite how the game will go is anyone’s guess.
On one hand, some of the returning players haven’t played much football lately.
On the other, Ton’s class of 2024 have just returned from their end-of-the-season do in Tenerife.
“It’s quite overwhelming the fact that everyone I asked has been able to come back,” said Scorer, who had just turned 23 when he took the manager’s job in 2014.
“We had to find a date when everyone was available but to have them all together with the current squad will make for a really special occasion.”
Scorer was initially offered the reserve team manager’s job at Kennington.
The offer was upgraded a week later and Ton haven’t looked back.
They’ve won three promotions in that time, going from the Kent County League Division 1 to the Southern Counties East Premier Division.
“I’d just had my third ACL injury in as many years and Kennington reached out, being a local boy and playing for the juniors,” said Scorer.
“It was a really exciting project. I always saw myself going into management but maybe not so young.
“I had every opportunity to get back playing but with so many injury setbacks, it led me into coaching and management a lot earlier.
“Of the squad I inherited, maybe three or four stayed.
“The rest decided to move on so it was a complete rebuild, which only excited me even more.
“I felt like it was something I could get my teeth into and make my own.
“I was very grateful for the opportunity and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Scorer, a teacher by day, has taken charge of hundreds of games as Kennington manager.
You don’t last a decade and win all those promotions without knowing what you’re doing.
So, what’s the secret of Scorer’s success?
“I think one of my biggest assets is the fact I’m able to relate to players,” he said.
“Certainly in my younger years, I was still a similar age to the players or even younger than some of them.
“Those periods when things become tougher or players are out injured or on the bench, I’m able to resonate with them and that’s helped me become a strong man-manager.
“I’ve always been able to communicate with people, which is a big part of my day job.
“Probably my self-belief is another thing, believing what I was capable of and knowing if everybody was pulling in the same direction as me that we were going to be successful.
“I’m certainly fortunate that over the past 10 years a large majority of players have shown nothing but respect and fully believed in what we were trying to achieve and wanted to be part of the project.
“It’s all been done without a budget, too, which keeps everyone in the same position and allows everyone to understand what we’re all doing it for.
“Hard work is what gets us to where we want to be and I’m fortunate to have worked with the people at the club and the players that I have.
“We offer an environment that’s as professional as it can be and I have no problem with us being a platform for players.
“That’s a really good selling point for us, for players to know we put our trust in them and put them in a position where they can go and earn some money in football.”
