MX23RW : Friday, November 8 19:39:50| >> :120:47439:47439:

Mitch Cook: 'Neil Warnock's success down to team spirit'

Ex-Scarborough player Mitch Cook has lifted the lid on his former boss.

Thirty-three years have passed since Neil Warnock fashioned his improbable first promotion, starting a reputation for success which would endure decades later, less than fifty miles up the north-east coast.

Scarborough's Athletic Ground is now a branch of Lidl, everyday essentials now available on the spot where the then part-time chiropodist forged his own bunch of bargain buys into the first team to be automatically promoted to the Football League in 1987.

All these years on, the remnants of Warnock's first title-winning team – the manager, when possible, included – endeavour to gather in the town each year to reminisce about a season in which a team that started out as relegation favourites so spectacularly beat the odds.

Neil Warnock, left, is a serial promotion winner
Neil Warnock, left, is a serial promotion winner (Owen Humphreys)

For Mitch Cook, a home-town star who came of age under Warnock and would go on to play for a handful of other Football League clubs, it is precisely within the strength of that enduring camaraderie that the secret of Warnock's achievement lies.

Cook told the PA news agency: "Neil arrived and brought in 13 or 14 new players but he instantly managed to create this kind of team spirit and togetherness, and that shows in the fact that most of the lads still meet up as regularly as possible even now.

"He won't mind me saying he might not be the best coach. But when I speak to others who have played under him, they all talk about the same thing – that spirit he creates that just makes you want to play for him and succeed."

  • Gainsborough Trinity
  • Burton
  • Scarborough
  • Notts County
  • Torquay
  • Huddersfield
  • Plymouth
  • Oldham
  • Bury
  • Sheffield United
  • Crystal Palace
  • QPR
  • Leeds
  • Rotherham
  • Cardiff
  • Middlesbrough

Cook, who was born and raised in Scarborough and still lives in the town, effectively sealed Warnock's first promotion by scoring the winning goal at Sutton United in the side's penultimate game of the season.

It capped a campaign built on Fergie-style tough love.

"I've been on the end of some terrible b********** from Neil, and the next minute he'd have his arm flung around you and be buying you a pint of beer," recalled Cook.

"He was ruthless – he'd bring in good players and if they didn't fit he'd get rid of them. He always seemed to be able to do the right thing at the right time – he got hold of us bunch of ragamuffins, and we delivered."

Following the end of his playing career, Cook returned to Scarborough for spells as manager and coach before the club's demise in 2007. A new club, Scarborough Athletic, now play in the Northern Premier League at a new stadium in the town.

The Athletic Ground may be no more, but Warnock's legacy lives on both through the regular reunions, and within the dozen-plus clubs which have reaped the benefit of a blueprint created against the odds in North Yorkshire.

"We were top of the league when Neil left for Notts County in 1988 and he started doing exactly the same thing for them," continued Cook.

"He knew what he wanted and he did it – and fair play to him, he's 71 years old and he's still going strong."

ID:416673: cacheID:416673:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6691:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Boro boss Neil Warnock on September 11, 2020
Read Next:
Neil Warnock urges people to follow Government's coronavirus guidelines
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland149322391430
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd149321871128
3Leeds UnitedLeeds147522291326
4Burnley146621761124
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom14572148622
6Millwall146441712522
7Watford147162222022
8Middlesbrough146351816221
9Swansea CitySwansea14545119219
10Blackburn RoversBlackburn145451616019
11Bristol City144731819-119
12Norwich CityNorwich144642320318
13Derby CountyDerby145361818018
14Stoke CityStoke145361718-118
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds145361724-718
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd144551717017
17Coventry CityCoventry144371819-115
18Hull City143651518-315
19Luton TownLuton144371621-515
20Preston North EndPreston143651420-615
21Cardiff CityCardiff144371320-715
22Plymouth ArgylePlymouth144371425-1115
23Queens Park RangersQPR141761223-1110
24Portsmouth141671327-149


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!