Bromley boss Andy Woodman excited by challenge of voyage into unchartered League Two waters

Bromley boss Andy Woodman admitted he can’t wait for next season after being named Sports Ground Development Manager of the Year at the Non-League Paper’s National Game Awards, in association with Isuzu.

The former Arsenal and Newcastle United coach led Bromley to the Football League for the first time in their 132-year history, doing so in dramatic fashion as they dispatched Solihull Moors, the side who had knocked them out in the FA Trophy semi-finals, 4-3 on penalties after a pulsating 2-2 draw.

The National Game Awards are a celebration of the non-league season, held by The Non-League Paper.

Earning promotion at Wembley was an achievement that stood above anything else in Woodman’s career, and the Bromley boss voiced his excitement at guiding the club through their first campaign in the EFL next season.

He said: ”I’m really excited for the season ahead.

“We wanted to get promoted, to get out of this notoriously tough league.

“It’s tough to get out of for anyone and we’re now in league football and that’s a really important milestone for Bromley.

“I’m going to enjoy all the games and all the matches, places we’re going to go to.

“It’s a really exciting time for the football club. We know what’s ahead of us, to some degree.

“We know it’s going to be tougher but if the fans show the same level of commitment to us, we’ll get through it together

“They’ve been right behind us like most supporters up and down the country and ‘most non-league supporters of football clubs are a unique bunch of people. They travel the length and breadth of the country and they don’t get the rewards or pat on the back.

“Thankfully we’ve been able to give them the reward of promotion and hopefully we can give them something to cheer about next season as well.”

For Woodman, guiding Bromley into the EFL had become ‘a bit of an unhealthy obsession’, the impetus behind rejecting some attractive offers that came his way while at Hayes Lane.

He added: “This is the first managerial post I’ve taken but to be the man at the helm has been a different experience for me. Every question and decision has to go through me.

“You’re non-stop committing to answers and decisions that you have to live and die by, but I don’t mind that, because you have to be brave and to trust your gut and beliefs

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve had three play-offs, an FA trophy win and now promotion, to date it’s gone quite well.

“I know management doesn’t stay that well for a long period but at the moment we’ve been on an upward curve and hopefully that can continue.

“Without the players and the staff, I don’t stand here. The efforts, energy, commitment and the professionalism they’ve all displayed is why I’m here. Without all those people putting in the graft and the work behind the scenes, I don’t stand here.

“I’m eternally grateful to them.”

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PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD