Beadle Is Building Barnet Back Up Brick-By-Brick

Barnet, like every club at the moment, need to make the money they do have really work for them. The consequences of any other outcome isn’t worth considering.

His man management skills sailing these unchartered waters will come in pretty handy as well.

Hauled in front of Spurs manager Ossie Ardiles back in 1994, the White Hart Lane legend grilled the powerful forward and asked him if he felt he deserved the money he was earning.

Paul Gascogine’s former team-mate also knows his time at the Hive will be about building things up, brick-by-brick.

The father of five, back in the game after nearly a year out, has plenty of practice when it comes to that.

Not only did he rebuild Hereford to great success, but Beadle has been getting in some more practice at home during lockdown.

“It’s been so nice to get back on the grass and get back into it again,” said the Bees boss, who left Edgar Street just over a year ago despite the triple-title winner’s astonishing win percentage.

“It’s been a long twelve months, especially when you throw lockdown into the mix. Lots of paints, lots of playdough and lots of Lego!

“My Lego skills aren’t bad, although my daughter wouldn’t agree with that. There are days when you have a meltdown and let the kids run wild for a bit.

“Myself and my wife have come out of it not killing each other, so that’s a good thing.

“But it will be fantastic being back in the dug-out playing for three points. Nothing comes close to that.”

Weeks after Covid-19 arrived came a Barnet bombshell.

Tony Kleanthous, the club’s open long-serving chairman, announced operational losses of approximately £100,000 per month.

He took the difficult decision to put all club staff on notice. He called it truly heartbreaking.

“We will have to dismantle our existing cost structure and look to rebuild for next season with a much leaner cost base” the statement read.

Many will see that as a free pass for their new manager, who replaced Darren Currie after he left in August.

But not Beadle, not accepting of mediocrity after three back-to-back championship wins at Hereford.

The club’s former striker said: “Since I left as a player Barnet have yo-yoed between the two divisions. I want to bring some stability to it.

“The club still has big ambitions. It wants to move up to League One, that is the long-term goal.

“We’ve got lots of hard work ahead to do that of course. We want a squad that is young, vibrant and energetic. We want a side the supporters will be proud of.

“What would I consider to be a good season for Barnet? To finish it! A full 46 games would be nice.

“But at a club of this stature I really think you have to be looking at a minimum of the play-offs.

“We want to flirt, and be around it in the run-it. If we are, the place will be rocking - we could have hopefully 3,000 here getting behind the team. It’s happened to us before and hopefully it can happen again.”

Beadle revealed he and his new chairman only met a day before he was confirmed as the club’s new manager.

During that meeting it was explained that the situation hasn’t changed and every penny must be taken care of.

“It happened really fast. I met the chairman on the Friday before it was announced on the Saturday,” he told the National League’s Oli Osborn.

“It’s a semi blank canvas to work with, that’s probably the best way of describing it.

“It is tough out there. Every club is battling for the same players. My daily routine is 23 hours on the phone and an hour training!

“We try to balance it the best we can, with the players we do have. We’re working down lists, it is hard work. It is never an easy ride wherever you are. So far we’re delighted with the players we have signed.

“It’s been a long couple of weeks already - we’re looking forward to the season starting and all that can calm down a bit!”

He added: “With the climate as it is, there are a lot of players hanging on waiting for League clubs.

“We’re working our hardest to bring players into the club, but we are still coming up against brick walls.

“Yes the infrastructure is here and the facilities are magnificent, they are of an EFL standard, but sometimes it’s about getting them down here to have a look.

“Unless they have an open chequebook then every manager will say the same thing - it’s very difficult.

“As a coach in this situation, it’s a bit of a mixture of an iron fist and an arm around the shoulder.

“They have to be on board with the philosophy. It’s about showing trust in them and they have the trust and faith in us and their team-mates.

“At Hereford we beat Dagenham and also Eastleigh in the FA Cup. We know how to beat sides at this level, but the teams are better than what we had in those final seasons.

“They did great last year and were two games away from winning promotion. We are going to have to try and follow that.”