Back in the dugout with Colchester United after a year out of the job, management duo Danny and Nicky Cowley have been on the lookout for the right opportunity.

It was about biding their time and reflecting on recent experiences before taking the plunge to take up a new post at Colchester, where the pair signed a two-and-a-half year deal earlier this month.

“For Nicky and I, we love football. It’s always the first thing we think about when we wake up in the morning and always the last thing we think about before we go to bed,” Danny Cowley says, speaking on the Official EFL Podcast.

“When you’re out of the game, you naturally miss it. When you lose your job, you go through a mourning period really where, of course, it hurts. Probably for us, managing in our 15^th season, we went 12 seasons without getting the sack, so we did pretty well early on!”

The management duo parted company with League One outfit Portsmouth last January and have been out of work until Colchester United came calling for the pair, just under a year on from their exit from Fratton Park.

He continues: “Unfortunately, we lost our job at Huddersfield and then Portsmouth. The Huddersfield one felt different because we’d achieved our objectives in keeping the Club up in the Championship after we took over in September when they were bottom of the league.

“The Portsmouth experience hurt, definitely. It was the first time Nicky and I felt that we’d failed. In football, it can be difficult, can’t it? We were top at the end of October and we lost our job in January. We left Portsmouth and it was so sad for us because we loved the people – it was just a brilliant Football Club that will always have a special place in our hearts.

“Initially, we feel the pain and over time, you’re able to reflect and try to learn. It’s always good for Nicky and I to look in the mirror rather than looking out of the window, so we’re always looking at what we did. Off the back of that, you look at your processes and way of working to try to improve that.”

And despite being linked with a number of vacancies during the interim period, the pair chose to wait it out.

“The opportunities did come during that period but for Nicky and I, we always want to try and make intelligent and informed decisions,” he explains. “Well, how do you make intelligent decisions? You have to gather all the information.

“We promised ourselves, off the back of the last two experiences, just to try to find really good people that we could be aligned with. We wanted to find a project and somewhere that we felt we would be able to add value.

“We had quite a few options that we tentatively turned down. There were some Clubs we really wanted to go to but they didn’t want us and there were some that wanted us, but we didn’t think they were quite right at that moment. It’s never easy because none of us have a crystal ball and as human beings, we don’t like uncertainty but in football management, there can be a lot of uncertainty.”

The Cowley brothers have enjoyed plenty of success and their CVs speak for themselves, even if the older of the two admitted that the pair’s dad wasn’t too happy to see Nicky drop down four divisions to join Danny as a player at Concord Rangers in the Essex Senior Football League in the first instance.

But it was a gamble that paid off. After three promotions with Concord, a highest-ever league finish at their next Club, Braintree Town, the two of them helped Lincoln City to win promotion back to the EFL. And they helped the Imps – with whom they also won the EFL Trophy – go a step further when they ascended to League One as champions.

“We love football and we’ve been so lucky to have the journey that we’ve had,” Cowley continues. “We’ve managed in eight of the top nine divisions in this country. We’ve had some really good times with some brilliant groups.

“Our careers started as PE teachers and we’ve had lots of the time on the grass trying to master our craft. Whether it’s coaching or it’s teaching, ultimately, it’s about connecting with people. Nicky and I wake up with the ambition of trying to make the players, the staff and absolutely ourselves better every single better.

“When I’ve had the most success at the Clubs, it’s when I’ve been at a Club that’s self-aware enough to know where it is today and have real clarity over where it wants to go. You have the start and the destination and when you’ve got those two bits locked in, then you can see the stepping stones to achieve the vision.”

Now, their attention turns to the task-at-hand with their new employer, Colchester United. The U’s sit just above the relegation zone, having lost eight of their last nine league outings prior to Cowley’s arrival.

But draws against Swindon Town and Bradford City under the new boss have seen the League Two side pick up some much-needed points and Cowley is eager to get stuck in.

He adds: “Once we met Colchester and met Robbie Cowling (Chairman) and Dmitri Halajko (Sporting Director), it was those two in particular. Robbie spoke with such a passion for the Club and so much love for the community which really resonated with Nicky and I. Really quickly, I felt that.

“I understand that sometimes Football Clubs are measured by first-team performance and, in recent teams, Colchester United’s first-team performance hasn’t been as good as anybody would’ve wanted it to be, but there are so many things going for the Football Club.

‘I’ve been so impressed with the incredible people and a Category Two Academy which is almost unheard of at League Two level with some brilliant young players. We have really good facilities – we have five pitches and a brilliant training ground and an indoor facility.

“First and foremost, we have to work really hard to retain our status in the EFL and hopefully, we can grow from there.”

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