When Luke Garrard was appointed boss of Boreham Wood he was just 32 – but he had been planning his route into a management for over a decade.
He took over at Meadow Park in 2015 and was the youngest manager in the top five divisions but by taking on the job was no shock to him as it had always been in his plans.
This weekend he will take his side, seventh in the National League, to the Ricoh Arena to face 1987 FA Cup winners Coventry City in what will be one of the biggest games he has taken charge of.
Having knocked Blackpool out in the last round, Garrard and his side know they are only one game away from a possible trip to Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge or even Wembley.But for Garrard it will be about his progression as a coach as he looks test himself against Mark Robins’ Coventry.
"When I was young I used to write sessions at Swindon,” Garrard said. “I did my level two at Swindon and I always wanted to be a coach, they are different coaching and managing.
"I got my B licence whilst playing at Wimbledon with the PFA whilst I was an academy coach at Boreham Wood.
“I have been in the academy for ten years working with the students there, I was a day to day coach for two years, head coach for three or four years and worked as an academy director.
"I was assistant manager before becoming manager so I was not just thrown into it. I have a relationship with the chairman, I have a background with the club, I know what’s expected from staff and players.
"It’s a great grounding as a young academy manager. I had nearly 1000 games a youth level by the age of 30, that's a massive accolade.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s clash with Coventry, Garrard is excited about the prospect of a trip to the Ricoh – but would have liked the balls to have been pulled out the other way round.
But with eight points from their four league games since they knocked Blackpool out in the first round – Boreham Wood are going into the game in good form.
Garrard added: “Obviously it would have been nice to be at home to galvanise the community, to get 1,500 people again like at Blackpool and to get local schools involved would have been ideal.
“But going up to the Ricoh Arena we are full of confidence, we will go fully prepared and hope for another upset.
“From the high of the last round we had to try and repeat it in the league and we've got eight points from four league fixtures between Blackpool and Coventry which shows what this group is about.
“You could say we are one game away from Manchester United, Manchester City or Chelsea and for a club like us that would be a massive feat.
“It would love to pit my wits against the best managers in the world. We’re focused fully on Sunday though, we need to leave everything on the pitch. The carrot though is a big tie away from home and that will be said to the boys, you’re 90 minutes away from possibly facing Harry Kane at Wembley.”
