Boys II Men: Elliott Dickman’s shift to senior management

Elliott Dickman has stapled himself as a first-team coach for the first time in his career.

The 46-year-old has been in the South Shields hot seat for over a year after impressing in his interim spell last season and is contracted to the 1st Cloud Arena until 2026.

Dom Aberdeen spoke to the Mariners boss.

 

Considering the coach never intended to make the shift to senior football, Dickman has taken to the step up like a duck to water when most had him to struggle – narrowly missing out on the play-offs in the National League North last season which saw many buy into his style.

“I would like to think that all players love the environment, love the culture, love the way that we want to try and play,” the head coach said.

“Personnel is a big part of that, and that’s something as a first-team manager you do have the opportunity to be a bit more selective with.”

Dickman was named Julio Arca’s temporary successor in 2023 after defeat to Blyth Spartans on Boxing Day cost the Argentine his job.

It came as a surprise for the then Academy Coach – who had only been appointed as the 16-19 Manager at the 1st Cloud that summer – but it is an opportunity he is grateful for.

“I wasn’t expecting it, it certainly wasn’t something that I was searching for.

“The first thing I did was have a meeting with the players and sort of reassured them about a few things.

“It was a proud moment for me and my family that I can now say that I’ve been a manager of a football club, and that’s something that’ll go with me to my dying day, and I’ll never forget this experience.”

Sam Jones, an intern with the Mariners has seen a positive reflection in the working environment since Dickman has come in.

“Elliott is a terrific character to have at the club with his wealth of experience, he brings a very professional approach.

“But he is also a big people person and makes it clear that he will help others when needed.

“He always asks how people are, offering to help if he can, he is a very well-liked person around the place.”

Across his 30-year coaching career, Dickman’s philosophy has been tweaked to suit the needs of his group.

He admits that he has become a better man away from the pitch from his learnings since he was a young coach at Sunderland.

“I don’t think you can stand still in the game as a person, forget a coach, and think you’ve cracked it because you’re always learning.

“I don’t think I would’ve liked myself as a younger coach, I was a little bit of a disciplinarian to a point and you know, discipline is important but I think maybe I overstepped the mark on one or two occasions with younger age groups in terms of how I thought discipline was coming from the background I’d come from.

“So as a person, I think I’ve definitely changed and I like how I am now, I like who I’ve evolved into.”

He credits his time at Newcastle United for perfecting his craft after 20 years at the Academy of Light.

“There was a coaching methodology at Newcastle, so very structured, but your personality had to come into the sessions and into the games in terms of how I see the game and how I like to be played.

“I like teams to dominate the ball, I like teams to work hard, to enjoy and express themselves when they’re in possession.”

Naturally, his current Mariners squad is full of ex-Sunderland and Newcastle youth players from when Dickman was a coach at the respective giants.

Names such as Martin Smith, Dylan Stephenson and Kyle Crossley are just some of the players Dickman nurtured in the academy system and are now producing for him in the first team.

“With younger players, the excitement and pure satisfaction of the role was seeing players progress.

“The satisfaction of seeing these young players achieve was the real sort of buzz and got my blood flowing and it was a real energizer for me to play a part in that, that is priceless to me.

“I’ve got some memories that I’ll never forget and it’s not memories of anything I’ve done, it’s memories of what hundreds – if not thousands of young people have done.”

Although it has its separate challenges, Dickman is enjoying the new obstacles that come with the senior game.

“I’m absolutely loving it, there’s different problems to solve when you’re working with a group of young players because they go home to the safety net and we’re there to nurture and guide and support them.

“I still see it as a nurture and guide but you’re doing it with grown men who are human beings, so you need to be more patient with youth players.”

I asked Dickman if more youth coaches should be given a shot in the main job after Lee Carsley’s stint as England boss received a positive response, and he was hopeful that the game would transition in that direction.

“If you look at some coaches in the lower leagues, you’ll see that at some point they have had a youth background.

“I would think that any good youth coach out there who does have aspirations to be a manager or work in a first-team environment shouldn’t give up.

“It would be nice to see more younger people or young coaches get a chance.”