BERNARD McNally insists he has no regrets from walking away from football management.

The 57 year old enjoyed a stellar playing career with spells at Shrewsbury Town and West Bromwich Albion while appearing at a World Cup with Northern Ireland.

McNally rejuvenated Newtown during a spell with the JD Cymru Premier club.

However McNally has since retired from the hotseat due to health reasons and told freelance journalist Jonny Drury he has no regrets.

He said: “In the last two years I’ve ended up being diagnosed with angina and I’ve actually had four stents put into my heart.

“There is a lot of pressure in football management even at the bottom level, it is ridiculous.

“That is when life comes into play and it makes you realise some things are more important than football.”

But despite the recent health scare, McNally is hoping his time in football as a whole isn’t at an end.

He said: “I want to be involved and I’ve done bits of coaching around the non-league and there are one or two things pending, so if something comes off it will be a nice little part time thing.”

The end of McNally’s management days come 40 years after his playing career began with Shrewsbury Town, playing 279 games.

Several years later McNally became an adopted Irishman and was part of the squad which travelled to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

“There are far better players than me who were never selected or got the chance to go to a World Cup,” said McNally. “I was fortunate that Northern Ireland had a good side with the likes of Sammy McIlroy, Norman Whiteside, Pat Jennings was still playing.

McNally won five caps for his country but unfortunately none of them came in Mexico.

Then after nine years at Shrewsbury Town McNally was on the move as Brian Talbot paid £385,000 to secure his signature at West Brom.

McNally’s highlight for the Baggies was the 1992/93 promotion as Albion won the Second Division play off final to return to the old First Division.

It was in that season that he played under Spurs and Argentina legend Ossie Ardiles, someone McNally has likened to an early Pep Guardiola.

“Ossie was such a breath of fresh air to other managers who wanted to lump it in the corner and get you squeezed up,” said McNally.

“I remember my time at West Brom with fondness. It was the time when the Premier League was just coming around and it was a good time in football.

“I was a playmaker so I really enjoyed it and we scored 100 goals that season which was no mean feat.

“And it is nice to always be thought of well at West Brom for that promotion.”

McNally ended his playing career at Hednesford Town in the Vauxhall Conference in 1995 and began his coaching career.

It was in the late 90s that McNally started on his coaching badges and on a journey to becoming a UEFA Pro Licence coach.

Then in 2004, over four years after bringing his playing career to a close McNally was taking his first steps into management at the re-born AFC Telford United in the Northern Premier League Division One.

It was the new Telford’s first season and the first season in management for the rookie McNally.

“It was my first year and we got a promotion and everything went really well,” said McNally.

“It showed that Telford was still a big, big club in non-league and it still is today.”

Then came two stints abroad as McNally swapped the cold Tuesday nights in non-league football for India.

He managed Pune FC for four months, before going on to a have a spell at a club in Romania, something he wouldn’t recommend to other young coaches.

McNally returned to Hednesford Town as a manager, before he then swapped England for Wales, spending two years with Newtown in the Welsh Premier.

“I really enjoyed my days at Newtown to be honest, and in hindsight I wish I had stayed there a bit longer,” admitted McNally. “I had been at Newtown and Graham Turner was the manager at Shrewsbury and he invited me back in the youth set up there.

“I couldn’t turn it down but Graham resigned and they changed things around and I went, and again, these things happen.”

McNally, who resides in Birmingham, accepted another job in the Welsh Premier League at Port Talbot Town.

“I was a great learning curve for me,” added McNally. “My wife said it was too much, as I was travelling three hours there and three back on Wednesday nights for training, getting home at 1.30am and up for work at 5.30am.

“It was the first time in football I was relieved to leave a club, but not because of the club, the people were great and they worked so hard down there.”

Since then McNally has been working for a construction company while coaching with clubs such as Droitwich Spa and Rushall Olympic.

He said: “Now I’m in a position where I work and then if I do get a coaching role, that can be something on top, a bit of something extra.”

For the full article go to jonnyjourno.com.