Yahoo Sports New Barrow boss Whing 'excited' by EFL opportunity
From driving the minibus in pre-season to fetching footballs from a cow field, Andy Whing has never been afraid to roll his sleeves up as a manager.
Now he is set to bring that "all-for-one" ethos as he makes his EFL bow as Barrow's new head coach.
It is that work lower down at Banbury United and then with Solihull Moors in the National League which has given him this opportunity.
And the enthusiasm is bursting out of him as he prepares for Saturday's match at home to Grimsby Town.
"I'm really, really excited, and I can't wait to get going," he told BBC Sport. "That has only grown since I've met the people over the last week."
'Barrow is a perfect fit'
Whing was appointed less than 48 hours after previous boss Stephen Clemence left the Bluebirds.
That followed a run of one win in 15 league games, which saw them fall from third down to 18th.
Barrow is one of the true outposts of English football, and the match with Grimsby will be the first time that Whing has actually been to the SO Legal Stadium.
But he is very keen to harness the club's geographical status and its place in the community as a cornerstone for success, using the underdog mentality he instilled at Solihull.
"We were a smaller club in that league with a smaller fanbase, going to places like Oldham and Southend, little Solihull Moors, we did tap into that underdog mentality, absolutely," he said.
"I've heard nobody really likes going to Barrow. We have to get back to that and make it as horrible as it can be for away teams.
"That's my main aim, and getting that underdog spirit in us to beat bigger teams in this league.
"That's how I am as a character; that's how I was as a player and then going into coaching. That's why I think Barrow is a perfect fit for me."
Whing's passion for football is obvious from five minutes in his company.
A lifelong Aston Villa fan, he has had to give up a ticket for Wednesday's Champions League game at home to Celtic because his new club are hosting Doncaster Rovers on the same night.
After a career spent mostly in the lower leagues with Brighton and Hove Albion and Oxford United after coming through the ranks at Coventry City, Whing had to drop into the Southern League, the seventh tier of English football, to get a crack at management with Banbury.
That involved him also working for a friend's business, delivering sofas, and at Birmingham City University doing football coaching.
After winning promotion with them to the National League North, he moved to Solihull, where he took Moors to Wembley twice last season, only to lose both the promotion play-off final and FA Trophy final on penalties.
But with the west Midlands club again going well this season, Whing now moves into the EFL.
'I've mucked in'
As the 40-year-old admits, his experiences have given him a great grounding with which to tackle his new job.
"Nothing has been given to me; I've worked my socks off to get here," he said.
"I've done everything. I drove the minibus in pre-season. I used to bring in my slow cooker to feed the lads after training, so they weren't going to a garage for crisps and a fizzy drink.
"At Banbury, there was a cow field behind the ground. The lads had been shooting, and it was pitch black, and I went to fetch balls that had ended up there.
"I picked a ball up and looked, and there were 20 cows staring at me. [I was] thinking I'd better get out of here sharpish.
"So I've had all those experiences, and I've mucked in. That epitomises Barrow."
