Ryan Beswick: The 35-year-old navigating the pressures of life as Quorn player-manager

Quorn FC, seven months on from NPL Midlands Division play-off heartbreak, have been ruthless in their ventures to go one better this season.

So far this campaign, the Reds have won 17 of their 21 league games, 14 of them coming consecutively.

At the helm of the side is Ryan Beswick.

A former Leicester academy man and National League North veteran with Solihull Moors, Beswick took over from Ant Carney at the beginning of the season, marking his first role as a player-manager.

And as far as debuts in the dugout go, it hasn’t been bad going for the 35-year-old.

Speaking to the NPL, Beswick said: “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think it could be this good. I didn’t look past the first three or four games when the fixtures were released - I was just hoping I’d survive a month!

“We worked really hard in pre-season and people started putting us in the same bracket as some of the bigger sides in the division such as Corby Town and Worcester City.

“It was good to see the start we made, and then winning 14 games in a row was ridiculous.”

Whilst it can be difficult managing expectations during an impressive winning run, Beswick insists his players have remained grounded.

The Quorn manager has appeared in all but two games this season - contributing to a run of results which has the Reds sitting 12 points clear at the top of the NPL Midlands Division - and has had to juggle playing with his managerial duties.

“You have to go through what a manager goes through in terms of tactics, whilst also trying to get your own brain in focus to put on a performance,” he admitted.

“At the end of the game at 5pm, I’m absolutely spent! But we have a good set of people, which is what I wanted in the recruitment process over the summer.

“I wanted a good set of lads who I could help improve, so it’s become quite easy to manage because no-one’s running around saying ‘we’re going to win the league’, which is a credit to their professionalism.”

Indeed, accountability is the main message being stressed by Beswick heading towards Christmas.

The Quorn boss feels that such a trait has been key during his career so far, and he is determined to convey that to his team as they continue their quest to reach Step 3 of the non-league pyramid.

“If I’m falling short on the pitch or not doing my job properly, I can’t really have a go at someone else for not doing their job,” he reflected.

“I have to be honest with myself and my team, or else people may look at it and think ‘well, he’s not doing anything he’s asking us to do.’

“The motivation [to stay focused and keep improving] is made easier because of that.”