KARL Duguid believes helping Braintree Town preserve their National League status was one of the proudest moments of his career.
Iron assistant boss Duguid worked alongside manager Steve Pitt and fellow coach Phil Coleman to help the club secure another campaign in the fifth tier, following their promotion from National League South last season.
Duguid achieved a great deal as a player, winning promotion twice at Colchester United and tasting success at Wembley in a career spanning nearly 600 appearances.
READ MORE: Early predictions made on where U's will finish next season
However, the 47-year-old ranks the season he has just experienced at Braintree as one of the best, after the club held their own against sides with vastly bigger budgets.
Duguid said: “It’s probably one of the proudest moments of my career.
“I’ve had some fantastic moments and unbelievable achievements but this is right up there.
“You look at the size of the football clubs that are in that league – it’s like the old division four if you like.
“You’ve got Barnet, York, Southend, Rochdale, Forest Green, Oldham Athletic who were in the Premier League!
“It’s a really strong league and I’ve really enjoyed it.
“The achievement itself I think has gone a little bit unnoticed if I’m honest, with local football.
“It’s bigger than just keeping a team in a division, with everything that surrounds it all.
“We ended the season with 12 players because all of the loans got called back and John (Akinde) pulled his hamstring, James Vennings broke his ankle, Marley Marshall Miranda was suspended for the last three games – it was like, what next?
READ MORE: Ben Goodliffe putting Essex rivalry aside ahead of final
“Credit to the players really, because I think everything that was thrown at them throughout the whole of the season, they literally got on with it.
“They never moaned once – they just sort of got on with what we wanted to achieve.
“There’s some very good footballers there and Colchester fans will know a lot of them, the likes of Clamps, Marley, John, Chay Cooper but I’ll be honest with you, every single one of them played their part.
“It was a real team effort, the way they dug in.
“Even in the last game of the season, I know we were probably safe anyway and it would have taken a 12-goal swing but we still went out and beat Rochdale who were in the play-offs.
“We beat the top-four teams throughout the season and had some great results against the likes of Barnet, York, Forest Green."
Duguid linked up with Braintree last December, following Pitt's appointment as Angelo Harrop's successor.
“I really enjoyed getting back into it on a full-time basis and really enjoyed the season," added the former Heybridge Swifts and Stanway Rovers boss.
“We came in last December and it was tough times but we just got on with the job.
“We succeeded in achieving what we wanted to achieve."
Share