WHO would want to be a manager in today's non-league game?Not me that's for sure.Twitchy boardrooms, overpaid players, money ruling everything, plenty of time away from the family, and for what?A few bad results and Goodnight Vienna.

Mike Bacon

WHO would want to be a manager in today's non-league game?

Not me that's for sure.

Twitchy boardrooms, overpaid players, money ruling everything, plenty of time away from the family, and for what?

A few bad results and Goodnight Vienna.

What happened to loyalty? What happened to giving a manager time? What happened to building a team? What happened to common sense?

I'm not even going to start to list the names of non-league managers in Suffolk and Essex who have left/sacked/resigned/jumped ship/vanished or just been booted out.

The number is frightening.

All I do know is, some of these clubs and a few managers ought to raise their heads above the parapet, see the bigger picture, look up the A12 to Lowestoft and see what can be achieved when managers are given time.

Micky Chapman and Adie Gallagher have successfully taken Lowestoft Town into a new League (the Ryman League), and up a level. And it's no coincidence that the pair, especially Chapman, have been with the club for years.

Don't get me wrong, it hasn't all been sweetness and light at Crown Meadow and there have been plenty of well-documented off-pitch problems in recent years.

But Mick has seen it all and done it all and Lowestoft are now reaping the rewards of his and the club's loyalty.

Mick joined the Blues as a 19-year-old in 1980 and immediately he was a star at the club as a player. Five player-of-the-year trophies followed but despite numerous offers to move, he has remained loyal to the club.

Captain, assistant manager and now manager, a position he has held for more than 10 years, Mick teamed up with coach Adie Gallagher six years ago as a management team that has gone from strength to strength.

It's an example of loyalty paying dividends at it's very best and more non-league clubs should take note.

The trophies have come for Lowestoft and their fans and the big day outs, including an FA Vase final at Wembley Stadium, have seen the fan base swell.

Rome wasn't built in a day, nor was Mick Chapman and Adie Gallagher's Lowestoft Town.

But more non-league clubs should take note, the road forward is often a long one.

(N) WHAT do you think? Are local non-league bosses given the boot too easily? Are there any managers you feel could have been given more time? Mike.bacon@archant.co.uk