Like many non-league managers, a healthy run in the Buildbase FA Trophy featured prominently in the conversation when Gary McCann thrashed out the finer details of his playing budget with the board at Hendon.
The North London Bostik League outfit stand to rake in £6,000 if they can upset National League South’s Bath City in the first round proper this weekend.
The financial gain heralded by progressing in the Trophy and other FA competitions, such as the Emirates FA Cup, are a major boon for clubs such as Hendon and managers such as McCann, who has been the Greens’ manager since 2005.
A former goalkeeper, who played for Hendon in FA Cup ties against the likes of Leyton Orient, Cardiff City, Notts County and Blackpool, a victory over Bath would go a long way to helping his club thrive this term.
“I think the major two tournaments – the FA Cup and the Trophy – are a lifeline to a lot of non-league football teams, and we’re no different,” said the Hendon boss.
“Our return in the FA Cup this year wasn’t fruitful, so we’ve definitely taken it upon ourselves to make sure the Trophy is – we’re looking to go one step further on Saturday for sure.
“When we sit down in the summer and we thrash out the budget for the year to come, I do try and squeeze that bit more out of the chairman and the board, with a view to bringing something extra to the pitch.
“We take a certain amount of responsibility on the playing front to do that and if we don’t take anything in from the Cup and the Trophy, I think it would be difficult to keep the budget sustainable.
“It’s very, very important to our football club. Although we’ve got opposition from a league above, I’ve got a changing room that are really confident they can cause an upset.
“If we can get through a difficult tie – against a team that we’ve got a lot of respect for – you find yourself in the last 32, which would be a massive achievement.”
In his 12th season at the helm, McCann is a bona fide Hendon stalwart and continuity is in the water, with the club having been in the Isthmian League since 1963.
Manager McCann added: “I’ve been there a long time and the ambition of the football club is key to the longevity of any manager.
“It needs to match yours and with the club moving into a new stadium (Hendon moved to Silver Jubliee Park in Kingsbury in 2016), going from a nomadic period to now having some stability and a team back in the Borough (of Brent), which is important.
“We’ve seen an increase in our crowds, we’ve seen an upturn in our fortunes on the pitch and I’m trying to harness that and take the club to the next level if I can.”
Buildbase FA Trophy history
Hendon’s best Buildbase FA Trophy run came in the 1998-99 season when they reached the fifth round, falling to Cheltenham Town.
Bath were semi-finalists in 2014-15, losing to eventual champions North Ferriby United.
Did you know?
Hendon are three-time winners of the FA Amateur Cup, a competition that ended in 1974.
Prize
Winners of Saturday’s first round proper ties will net £6,000 in prize money and reach the last 32 of the competition.
