'I've absolutely loved it' - Ex-Town star Skuse is thriving as non-league boss

Skuse’s first year in management, following his retirement as a player last summer, has been a story of success - the Blues are already guaranteed a play-off berth in Isthmian League North, regardless of tomorrow’s result in East London.

But Bury’s emphatic 6-0 rout of Enfield last weekend, coupled with defeats for fellow play-off clubs Felixstowe, Bowers & Pitsea and Brentwood, has meant that a win over Redbridge would secure a much cherished home tie at the semi-final stage.

Cole Skuse, left, and Paul Musgrove, his assistant at Bury (Image: Neil Dady)

“I’m extremely proud to be a part of this football club,” enthused Skuse, following Saturday’s win, which was played in front of a bumper crowd of 1,017 at Ram Meadow.

“People at the very start were questioning me, asking me why would you (go into non-league management) when you are just coming out of retirement as a player.

“But I have absolutely loved it, from start to now, and I’m so proud to work with this coaching staff and the players.”

It has not been all plain sailing for 38-year-old Skuse this season, by any means. When Bury were thumped 6-2 at home by Basildon United in mid-November, there was little indication of what was to come.

The west Suffolk club were in the lower half of the table, and still struggling to find their feet following previous manager Ben Chenery’s departure.

But the transformation since has been nothing short of remarkable.

Skuse played almost 300 games for Town in eight years (Image: Copyright Ashley Pickering)

“I’m the wrong person to ask whether I myself am improving as a coach, but in terms of results we have had a real good turnaround,” said Skuse, who as a midfielder made 278 appearances for Town (2013-21) before ending his career at Colchester United.

He continued: “We went over a bit of a bump, at the start of the season, and I think as a club we needed to, for me to a good grip of the club and a real understanding of personnel, and also for the players to get to know me and how I wanted to do things.

“Since then, we have not looked back. The players are always trying to reproduce things we have worked on in midweek. They strike a good balance, also having a laugh and poke at each other in training, but nothing over-kill.”

Down in 12th spot with just three wins from their first 11 league fixtures after the heavy defeat to Basildon, a resurgent Bury have suffered just one defeat in 24 games since then, with 18 wins and five draws.

They are now in third spot, ahead of Felixstowe & Walton United on goal difference. A win at Redbridge would secure a home tie in the semi-finals, and if they could overhaul second-placed Bowers & Pitsea (two points clear but with an inferior goal difference), then they would be at home in the play-off final as well, if they were triumphant in the semis.

Ipswich Town Academy product Cemal Ramadan has bagged 31 goals for Bury this season (Image: Neil Dady)

“We will be going to Redbridge to get a victory,” insisted Skuse.

“We want to leave no stone unturned, in our build-up. We’ve got one more big push, from a league standpoint.

“Redbridge had an impressive result on Saturday (5-0 win at Ipswich Wanderers), so we can’t under-estimate them. They will have pride to play for.”

Home advantage would be massive for Bury, during the lottery of the play-offs.

Skuse added: “It is a rare thing, especially at this level, to get the attendances that we do. The crowds we get our incredible.

“We had just short of 1,300 when we played Felixstowe, and it has a desired effect. You can see it in the players, coming into a packed arena, it gives you that extra little bit. And we have a really good surface here, with the attention to detail.

“You could see (against Enfield) the players are enjoying it, and they have put smiles on the fans – we’ve had crowds that have gone above and beyond for us this season.”