David Stockdale's unexpected turn to management is all about helping Farsley Celtic survive

For someone who admitted he'd 'never thought of being a manager' previously, taking on the reins at Farsley Celtic has been a big baptism of fire for David Stockdale. 

After hanging up his boots, the former Newcastle goalie has been concentrating on becoming a Sporting Director in a post-playing life, but after a brief management spell with Blythe, he was convinced back into the dugout at the National League North's bottom club. 

Speaking on this week's Multi-Match Live, Stockdale told presenters Aaron McClean and Curly what made him take over the reins at Celtic. 

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He admitted: "It's actually my most local club. It's literally two miles up the road. A lot my friends used to play for Farsley so there's a lot of history here. And since the chairman took a step back, the directors and volunteers at the club were in desperate need of someone to help them steady the ship. 

"They'd known what I'd gone through at Blythe and I was interested in helping out, and this was the only way I could do it." 

The Yorkshire club find themselves in a tough predicament right now, rooted to the bottom of the table, nine points from safety and with relegation looking likely. This season they have also struggled to pay wages and faced an embargo on registering new players. 

It's a situation that Stockdale admits he didn't realise managers dealt with during his playing days, but he's praised his squad and is realistic about what could happen in the future. 

Adding: "You always look back, and when I was playing, you never knew what a manager went through. I always just took it for granted and that he just turned up when we trained and all that, but there's a lot more that goes into it.

"Especially at the minute with what we've got going on here. We've got 13 lads who have come through our academy playing now. It's been well-documented we can't afford to pay the players, but that has now been sorted, and we are doing it. Being under an embargo as well doesn't help, so you can't register anybody.

"Everyone looks at results, but I've told the lads it's about experiences. They're all playing for themselves, and you never know who's watching and will you give yourself a good account. Results aside, I think they've put in every ounce of effort they can for me and the club, which I'm really proud of. 

"Whatever happens, it's football. Any club can get relegated and it's how we bounce back from that. The club survives for a start and we rebuild." 

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