FOR some aspiring managers the experience Frank Sinclair underwent at Hednesford Town last season would have been enough to have put them off for good.

After an impressive spell in charge of Colwyn Bay as a player-manager Sinclair took the reins at National League North side Hednesford last December, but was unable to save them from relegation with the club suffering problems on and off the pitch.

Sinclair resigned at the start of March only for the chairman to change his mind and ask him back the following day, but by mid-April the former Burnley defender had left the club.

Despite a difficult time in charge of the Pitmen, Sinclair’s ambitions to forge a career in management haven’t been dimmed, even if he is looking at a return to coaching in Football League academies in the immediate future.

And although Hednesford were relegated at the end of the campaign, Sinclair believes he has laid the foundations for the club to bounce back over the coming years.

“It was a difficult period for the club, I went in there at Christmas with the idea of trying to improve things and it was very difficult,” said the 44-year-old.

“It didn’t work out regardless of me trying to recruit better players and improve the squad. I think I left the football club in a really good position.

“I had the idea of bringing back youth football and I’ve got them registered to do that and able to play in the FA Youth Cup and to play in a league.

“I negotiated a really good sponsorship deal with Macron through my connections, so behind the scenes there was a lot of work done but on the field I wasn’t able to improve the situation and in the end they got relegated.

“I wish the club all the best going forward, the chairman and secretary were great people to work for and I learned about myself while I was there as well.”

Sinclair had engineered a six-game winning run in his first step into management with Colwyn Bay, saving them from relegation, and steering them to a 12th-place finish in what was then the Conference North in 2013/14.

A brief spell as caretaker manager at Brackley Town followed before the disappointments of Hednesford.

For a player who came through the ranks at Chelsea and played the majority of his career in England’s top two divisions, managing players on a part-time basis in non-league has proved to be an invaluable learning curve.

“You try and implement a professional mindset that I’ve been used to growing up at a young age and going through the ranks at Chelsea and playing for the likes of Leicester City and Burnley, for the first 15 years of my career it was a very professional outfit,” Sinclair added.

“I tried to implement that at a lower level which is sometimes hard for the clubs to take on board and also for a lot of players who play part-time it’s hard for them as well, but I did learn a lot coaching-wise and how to try and affect players with a lot of confidence.

“It was a tough job to take on and it didn’t quite work out, but you move on and it hasn’t dented my enthusiasm for coaching and managing.

“At the moment I’m speaking to a few clubs about going back in at a higher level and coaching in academy football.

“I did 18 months at Oldham Athletic, I pair that job with the managerial jobs I’ve done. I’ve enjoyed working with kids and I’m speaking to a few clubs and trying to get back in for the beginning of the season.”

Although the managerial career may be on hold, Sinclair is passionate about making a difference to the stars of tomorrow.

“I believe I’ve got a lot to offer,” he said. “I experienced going into a club like Chelsea at the age of 11 and going through the ranks to make it as a professional. There’s not much I haven’t seen at that level.

“The game has changed a lot now, there’s so much more asked of these kids with what they have to take on board. Physically, mentality and in education a lot of changes, with the sports science as well.

“But I thoroughly enjoy watching players progress and trying to achieve their dreams that I was fortunate enough to do.”

Sinclair is close to competing his UEFA A Licence, before he begins on the UEFA Pro, the highest badge attainable and required to manage at the highest level in England.

He has done his badges through the Welsh FA and has benefited from working with their coaching guru Osian Roberts, who is Chris Coleman’s assistant manager with the national team at Euro 2016, and has also enjoyed the wisdom of Coleman himself on some seminars.

Coleman might have been forced to retire from his playing career relatively early, but Sinclair has only recently put his boots away, having still been playing competitively for Brackley Town at the age of 43.

“At the beginning of last season I was first team coach at Brackley Town and I was also on the playing staff,” he said.

“I started off the season and did pre-season and played a few games, but the idea was to help the manager I was working with there.

“Eventually I became the caretaker manager there, that was the time I decided it was very difficult to do both.

“I had the experience of working for two years at Colwyn Bay as player and manager and it’s difficult to do both, even at that level.

“Being able to constantly perform as well as looking after the team is a tough task, but it put me in good stead to go on to just managing and coaching.

“I was fortunate not to get any tough injuries that have resulted in long lay-offs, I’ve always stayed quite fit and I could probably still play now, but I want to concentrate on the coaching and managing.”