BEING a manager is a massive job and my job at York City is one of the biggest I've ever taken on.

People are often under the illusion that because you are the manager of a Conference club, you're finished by 1.30pm and sat at home with your feet up by 2pm. It's not like that - it would be nice if it was.

It's not just about the first team. You have to know what's going on in the reserve team, the youth team and the school of excellence.

You're talking to the youth coach, reserve coach, scouts and you're talking to managers.

And that's all before you have the meetings with the board and the office staff. Then you've got to go out to functions as well - it's a full-time job. But to me it's not a job.

It's almost a lifestyle and I'm very privileged to be doing what I do. I don't go home as much as I should do but that's the way it is.

We are not a 9 to 5 industry. After training in the morning, you're doing paperwork or watching videos in the afternoon.

Sometimes you don't even get a chance for lunch because someone might pop in or you get a phone call you have to deal with. In the evening, you are then often going out to watch a player or a team.

You're not getting in the house until 11pm and then you're up at half past six to drive in to work. When I was at Derby County, I was flying about all the time, watching players in Spain and abroad. Now you're flying about the motorways looking for a little diamond.

You don't clock the hours and I'm very lucky that I've got a wife that's been with me for so long because a lot of people can't handle it all.

But I think that if you love something and you love your job, you never work a day in your life. I've always loved my job whether it was as a coach, a manager, scouting - it's just football.

The satisfaction you get does not come from money. It comes from seeing the players that you have worked with get better.

You might see them in two or three years time and they have got bigger cars and bigger houses and you know they are doing well.

I also get a buzz from seeing little kids sitting in the terraces, knowing that I'm doing something for the fans they will appreciate and that will make them and the city proud.