10th tier club appoint experienced former Prem and EFL player in his first role as manager

10th tier club Daisy Hill appoint the experienced former Prem and EFL player Nicky Hunt in his first role as first team manager.

The 42 year old comes in at the North West Counties League Division One North side, having been assistant at Atherton Collieries.

He expressed excitement about the local connection – growing up nearby and watching the club as a kid – viewing it as a family-oriented setup with potential for playoffs despite a slow start.

Chairman Aaron Hunt praised Hunt’s Premier League, international, and non-league experience, holding a UEFA A Licence, and anticipates exciting times starting with Saturday’s home match against Nelson.

Daisy Hill currently sit 16th out of 18 teams, winless, drawn 3 and lost 3. On the 1st of September, manager Lee Hill resigned due to personal reasons and family commitments.

🚨Club Statement🚨

The club have appointed Nicky Hunt as our new First Team Manager!

Nicky brings coaching experience from his time at Ashton Utd, Warrington Rylands and Atherton Collieries.

He also has 127 Premier League appearances and 10 England U21 Caps to his name. pic.twitter.com/F4pTPKMnOA

— Daisy Hill FC (@OfficialDHFC) September 3, 2025

CLUB STATEMENT:

Daisy Hill FC are pleased to announce the appointment of Nicky Hunt as the new first team manager.

Nicky joins us from Atherton Collieries, where he has been assistant manager, and brings to the club a wealth of experience gained at professional and non-league levels of the game.

In a playing career that spanned 20 years, Nicky is probably best remembered for his ten year spell at Bolton Wanderers, where he made 126 appearances, and also won ten England under 21 caps.

Once his playing career finished, Nicky moved into coaching, and held coaching roles at Ashton United and Warrington Rylands, before joining Atherton Collieries.

Speaking about his appointment Nicky said:

“I’ve been coaching 3 or 4 years now at non-league level, in the Northern Premier League, and I’ve really enjoyed it, being Assistant Manager to Cleggy (Michael Clegg) who’s now at Atherton Colls.

“But I just thought it was time for me to make that step up, and this opportunity came about really quickly.

“From the moment I met up with Aaron (Daisy Hill Chairman), I knew this was something that I wanted to do and wanted to be a part of, and hopefully we can crack on now for the remaining 28 league games this season.

“I grew up literally 5 minutes’ walk down the road, and my parents still live in Daisy Hill, so for me, it’s really close to home.

“I came here to watch the team as a kid, so I’ve got an affiliation with this football club. It was a family club back then, and it’s probably even more of a family club now.

“The fans, the committee members and everyone involved at the club, they just love it, to a point where it’s become their lives, which is what I’m all about football wise. I put everything into it, whenever I’m into the coaching or the playing side.

“The way the club is run now, with the sponsorships they’ve got, I can only really see it going one way.

“I’ll have at least one, if not two, of my new coaching team with me on Saturday, so I’ll have a good team behind me, who know the level and they know what it takes to win games.

“This league is a tough league, but anyone could beat anyone on the day, and we’re definitely not out of having a chance to get to the playoffs.

“We’ve had a slow start, but it’s only six games in and 28 to go, so the message I’ll be drilling into the lads is let’s get firing on all cylinders as soon as we can”.

Daisy Hill Chairman Aaron Hunt added: “Everyone at the club is really looking forward to working with Nicky.

“He had a brilliant playing career at the top level, both in the Premier League and at international level, he holds a UEFA A Licence, and knows the local non-league scene too, so he’s got great experience at all levels of the game.

“We believe that he is definitely the right man for Daisy Hill, and that there are going to be some exciting times ahead for everyone who follows the club, starting on Saturday when we host Nelson”.

NICKY HUNT’S CAREER:

Youth career
–2001 – Bolton Wanderers

Senior career
2001–2010 – Bolton Wanderers – 161 games (1 goal)
2008 → Birmingham City (loan) – 11 games (0 goals)
2010 → Derby County (loan) – 23 games (0 goals)
2010–2012 – Bristol City – 8 games (0 goals)
2012 – Preston North End – 17 games (1 goal)
2012–2013 – Rotherham United – 9 games (0 goals)
2013–2015 – Accrington Stanley – 80 games (0 goals)
2015–2016 – Mansfield Town – 21 games (0 goals)
2016–2017 – Leyton Orient – 54 games (1 goal)
2017–2018 – Notts County – 19 games (0 goals)
2018–2020 – Crewe Alexandra – 54 games (1 goal)
2020–2021 – Darlington – 16 games (0 goals)
2021–2023 – Ashton United

International career
2004–2005 – England U21 – 10 games (0 goals)

Here’s how fans reacted as the 10th tier club appoint an experienced former Prem and EFL player in his first role as manager…

@magpies_history: Great birthday present for Nicky! Good Luck 👍🏻

@BCofBWFC: We all dream of a team of Nicky Hunts 🎶

@tonyjoe90: Nicky hunt hunt hunt…

@Liam_bwfc: Will he do the halftime disco, too? @OfficialDHFC. Go on, Nicky! #BWFC

@1darrenbutler: bobby. charlton’s ex barber

@Markoliver21578: Suppose you cant get more of a local lad lol 😂

@lowey1987: All the best Nicky lad 👏

@nomadicbolton: But can he assemble a team of 11 Nicky Hunts

@BYncfc: 99 pace Nicky hunt now a manager 😮‍💨

@BurndenAces: The lad from Daisy Hill #BWFC

@JoshLTFC_: Huge appointment. Makes Saturday such a bigger game now, intrigued to see what he can do! Hunt x Hunt HERE WE GO! #UpTheCutters

@booncafc: Fair play to Nicky Hunt man went from chilling with Oli Finney and Charlie Kirk, snapping Ronaldo on his prem debut to kicking ball with Angry Ginge genuinely sound geeza aswell fr

@bwfc454: “And number 1 is Nicky Hunt & Number 2 is Nicky Hunt..” 🎶 just need to bring in Bassini now complete the dream team 😂 #bwfc