For thousands of managers across England's non-league pyramid, football is not a career. It is a second job, one they have to balance alongside their actual career and their family. It's usually a financial burden, yet so many love it.
​
At Step 6 of the English football pyramid, the North West Counties Football League (NWCFL) First Division operates as one of two geographically split divisions, both with promotion slots to Step 5. It sits far from the televised spectacle of the Premier League, but the demands placed on those running clubs at this level are still huge relative to the size of these clubs.
​
One manager in the NWCFL First Division South has been in non-league management for ten years, the last three and a half at Step 6. Away from football, Adam Wall works as an Area Sales Manager for one of the world's largest cutting tools companies, covering an area from Crewe down to Redditch, visiting multiple companies each day to generate new business. By any measure, it is a demanding full-time role. It is also only half of what his week involves.
​
"The hours a week vary, but if you include phone calls, it's upward of 25 to 30 hours a week," he said. "Realistically, 10 to 15 hours at the ground."
​
That figure is not unusual at this level. Research from the FA reveals that grassroots football volunteers contribute over 150 million hours annually to keep local football alive, equivalent to £1.2 billion in economic value. For managers specifically, those hours extend beyond management.
"I am heavily involved at committee level with a say in all decisions the club make," Adam said. "All the way down to project managing our new clubhouse — and now it's open, serving behind the bar.
"Non-league is very voluntary based. Without the willingness, how can I expect anyone else to do it?"
​
A 2024 survey found that 45% of non-league and grassroots clubs depend on at least 11 to 15 volunteers, with three out of ten clubs utilising over 15 as part of their extended staff. At Step 6, that volunteer workforce often includes the manager himself.
Training takes place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. He arrives at the ground at around 5:30pm, holds a coaching meeting at 6:30pm, and the players begin arriving at 7:45pm for an 8pm start. Sessions run until 9:30pm, then the ground needs locking up. He is home by 10:30 or 11pm, before rising the next morning to travel his sales patch.
​
"This is where I have to be honest and say I find it incredibly difficult," he said, when asked about balance. "I have a three and a half year old and a five month old as well as a very understanding wife at home.
"Routine is the only thing I can say helps. I make sure certain times during the week I keep for my family. It's difficult though, because my phone never stops.
"It's the one part of the job that can be overwhelming."
​
On the pitch, the competition for players at this level is fierce. "Identifying players for recruitment is easier than ever these days. Everyone has a video system, even at our level.
"However, signing these players has never been more difficult. In our area alone, Eccleshall, Brocton, Stafford Rangers and ourselves are all fighting for the best talent."
​
The NWCFL alone comprises 60 clubs operating across Steps 5 and 6 of the National League System, meaning the competition for available players within any given region is significant. Budget constraints compound the problem. "We make the expenses budget we have go as far as it physically can," Adam said.
"We're up against some much larger budgets, so we just keep trying to improve."
Beyond recruitment, it is the man management that he identifies as the most underestimated part of the role. "I don't think people realise the levels of man management that go into it.
"When I say personal problems, some of the things I've dealt with are beyond belief.
"Sometimes I have to sit back and say, am I a football manager or Jeremy Kyle?"
The expectations at club level have grown in line with results. "When I joined, only one or maybe two people had any high standards and real expectations from me.
"Now I have driven standards, and this football club expects results.
"I have produced two of the better seasons this club has had for many years, so that's the standard now."
​
Success, it seems, raises the bar rather than lowering it.
​
Despite the demands, he shows no sign of stepping away. He has been at the club for three and a half years and intends to go further up the pyramid than he reached as a player, which was Step 4. "My ambitions are the same as when I played. As high as I can go, with as much success as I can manage doing it."
​
To those considering following a similar path, his advice is blunt: "Don't do it. No, on a serious note, just understand what it takes to even compete.
"Hours of sacrifice, and it does affect you mentally and physically.
"Just be prepared to give it everything, or don't bother. You can't just 'have a go' at this."
​
The perception of Step 6 football from the outside, he argues, does not match the reality from within. "People write it off as 'just Step 6.' A fair few players and managers have fallen foul of that one.
"This NWCFL Step 6 is ruthless."
​
For the managers running these clubs, that ruthlessness is something they navigate every single week, largely unseen and almost entirely unpaid.