Disney Praises First Team Staff Following Award Win

This past week saw John Disney named as the JD Cymru Premier Manager of the Month for November.

The win made Disney the youngest ever winner of the award aged just 33, having taken charge of the First Team this past summer. Disney’s transition from player to staff has been a very successful one, having won 10 and drawn four of his opening 17 league games in charge of the club which sees the side currently sit second in the league on 34 points with two games in hand on current league leaders TNS.

November was a particularly good month for The Nomads, picking up three wins in three league games, scoring nine goals and conceding just one, starting away at Cardiff Met with a 3-0 win, before defeating Penybont 4-0 at the Essity Stadium and finally beating Llanelli 2-1 away.

Following the award, Disney heaped praise on his First Team Staff;
"As a club we are delighted to win team of the month - I will always reiterate that it is team of the month rather than just Manager as it most definitely isn’t down to just myself and I am lucky enough to see first-hand every single day how much each and every staff member contributes to the success on the pitch. 

The players and staff rightfully get all the main credit individually and collectively for carrying out a fantastic start to the season but this award for me highlights recognition for our back room staff also - they all deserve a lot of credit for going two whole calendar months unbeaten in the league. There is no secret other than consistent hours of hard work, dedication and delivering the correct detail to each player for each challenge that is put in front of us, something for me in my first role is something that can never go unnoticed.

Firstly the volunteers, the fans and the team behind the team including the board members and owner, they are all there through the good and the bad always pushing and striving for what is best for Connahs Quay Nomads, seeing them all with a smile on their faces after a successful game is what we all collectively do this for and the multiple jobs that they continually carry out behind the scenes is something that we as staff members and the players will never not appreciate - they are the club and Connahs Quay Nomads only exists due to themselves whilst we are just custodians of the club.

Jay and I have worked closely for nearly 10 years now and he has undeniable expertise within this league, he has helped me greatly on the transition from player to Head Coach and constantly challenges me on team selections, in-game and in training sessions. Jay delivers in great detail on ours and the opponents set plays and we are seeing our rewards for that coming to show again with a new group.  Jay, also as part of his club-wide role, was key in bringing in our three university interns to the club in Taylor, Conner and Joe - they have all contributed greatly to the staff and playing squad with their different expertise within Nutrition, Strength and Conditioning and Analysis, ones that we hope stands them in good stead as they progress in their careers.

Jack has been a real positive and breath of fresh air since coming to the club, delivering the vast majority of sessions on the training pitch with all the first team squad. Alongside the main group sessions, he is working numerous hours on individual work with the full time players in Manchester with his continued expertise working with EFL and English Premier League players, our players have the benefit of working directly with himself on individual work and also group sessions, ones that I know they really enjoy and have benefited greatly from so far this season.

Jon Rushton is in his first year as a coach also and has recently successfully passed his UEFA B Goalkeeping Licence recently and is someone I believe has a fantastic future in coaching with all his experience as a player but also with how he delivers his sessions and our young goalkeepers Ryley, Elliot and Dani who have been exemplary in training have the best to learn from in Rushy.  Kit Margetson has had a great first loan so far and his first men’s loan in our league for me he couldn’t learn from anyone better whilst also training every day with Swansea first team.

Seb Richardson has been fantastic also throughout the season, alongside the usual physical injuries every football club goes through we have had some more medical issues that have arisen and Seb has been working countless hours away from the training ground to ensure that all players are as fit and healthy as possible to carry out their roles on the training pitch and carrying that in to games. Again Seb is young, driven and very passionate about his role and is someone with a bright future ahead hence why he is already being selected continually with the Wales youth international fixtures.

Mal Latter as kitman is someone for me that epitomises what Connahs Quay Nomads is all about, he greeted me on my first day at the club and still has the same grin on his face every time I see him and even in challenging times which there is plenty Mal is there to pick us all up.



The media team in Adam and Nik also continually keeping us and the supporters up to date on all things club related with high quality work whilst ensuring that the matchday operations go as smoothly as possible.

The players have, to a man, all been absolutely fantastic so far this season, some have played more than others but every single one of them have contributed to getting us where we need to be. Football is a game that can switch very quickly from being seen as a good game or a below par game - what I see from the playing squad in each and every session is the will to work hard, the will to succeed, the will to listen and the will to hold themselves, us as staff and each other accountable. Without the players at our disposal all the above would be a lot harder to generate success in what is a extremely competitive and difficult league this season.

As we know, nothing is ever done by December and as a collective group we will continue to work as hard as possible to achieve our collective goals come the end of the season."

Date Published: Friday, 12th December, 2025 - 2:10pm by Nik Mesney