Steven Hyndes looking for Portadown boys to benefit from his Hanover return in cup

The current Portadown under 20s manager once enjoyed something of a crowning glory in the Mid-Ulster FA knockout showpiece as Hanover boss.

It proved a personal highlight for Hyndes and his assistant, Dean Crowe, within five years of forward progress with the Mid-Ulster Intermediate League outfit.

This weekend he will be watching Hanover once again from the Brownstown Park sidelines in a key Bob Radcliffe Cup tie - but hoping, for the first time, for home defeat.

Although his goals over the quarter-final tie may mark a break in tradition for Hyndes, his belief in the benefits associated with the Bob Radcliffe Cup remain as strong as ever.

“Winning the Bob Radcliffe Cup with Hanover on Boxing Day in 2017 was a feeling really that exceeded many of the trophies or achievements I experienced as a player,” said Hyndes, who counts Armagh City, Glenavon and Crusaders as former clubs across an Irish League playing career which ended at the age of 35 years old. “Portadown reserves won the competition in the early 1980s and I would be confident it remains a proud memory for any of those players.

“It was a goal to return a Portadown side to the Bob Radcliffe Cup once I arrived here as under 20s manager in the summer.

“At Hanover the trophy win marked a big moment in what we wanted to achieve as a group and I want it to provide similar steps forward for these young Portadown players.

“Player development is, of course, a massive part of working with young prospects but I think an area often over-looked as you attempt to prepare anyone for that final step up to the senior environment is the winning mentality.

“Alongside the many benefits of how we approach youth football in the modern era, playing under 20s football cannot provide that same exact emotional experience and the learning process from taking part in a competition like the Bob Radcliffe Cup against seasoned adult sides can only be positive.

“We are looking the boys to get that sense of joy at winning a cup tie with such high stakes or, also important as part of preparations towards a future in senior football, having to cope with that blow of defeat.

“Drawing on my Irish League experiences can, hopefully, give the boys a different insight and the issue of a winning mentality is something I know Matthew Tipton really considers key towards players making that next step up out of the under 20s into the firsts.”

Working under Tipton and helping to delivery the club pathway vision of the hands-on first-team boss proved a significant appeal in Hyndes and Crowe signing up to the Shamrock Park structure.

“We are both really proud of what we achieved at Hanover and worked alongside amazing people, people still striving so hard to continue to push Hanover forward now,” said Hyndes. “Building something over five years was a wonderful challenge and when it came to eventually looking at other options, the chance to join Portadown and be part of something bigger than us with an established foundation already in place was really exciting.

“Matthew has created a youth structure now with me as under 20s manager, Dean my assistant then Chris Wright manager of the under 18s and Daniel Wright looking after the under 16s, alongside Peter Mullan as lead development coach and Neil McCullough the club scout.

“It is about having people in place to bridge the link between the brilliant work done by the youth sides from under 16s down and creating the best situation for progress to that next stage.

“Dean and myself remain ambitious and keen to learn and develop our skillset and collaboration has always been a big part of how we work.

“Working together towards shared goals as a collective under one overall plan is a great opportunity.

“There is an excellent balance by this revamped set-up coming in with an overall approach to build on top of all those positives in place.”

One unexpected positive delivered by the Bob Radcliffe Cup has been the rarity of competitive fixtures within a campaign operating under such uncertainty.

“You are dealing with a squad of under 20s that really has the vast majority of players much younger and the ups and downs experienced so far demand attention beyond just thinking about them as footballers,” said Hyndes. “I think Dean and myself have a history of working with players on more than just tactics and technique and certainly over the lockdown one bonus has been the time to get to know the under 20s as people.

“For example, when still at Hanover back in March we had one of the first positive coronavirus test results in Northern Ireland and it was a situation so new, especially to sports clubs at that time.

“Having to quickly learn to cope with that situation at a point when people did not understand coronavirus in the same way is something I draw on when communicating now with players so many months on.

“We have a responsibility to help players cope with the mental challenges of everything on top of the physical and football lessons.

“We are basically coming off four pre-seasons since the summer and with the league future hanging in the air but the boys, with family support as well, have kept the focus, worked hard in whatever way possible and also shown a real togetherness.”

Those forward steps in creating a team bond under the unprecedented conditions of the ‘new normal’ created by the coronavirus pandemic stand as a significant source of praise from Hyndes for his players.

Togetherness will prove at the heart of Portadown under 20s’ approach today following the devilish twist of football fate that handed Hyndes and Crowe a return to Hanover.

Hyndes remains proud of the continued links to Hanover he enjoys alongside Crowe as ongoing ‘club members’. Crowe, in fact, helped with the summer installation of a stand at Brownstown Park from which the Hanover fanbase will this weekend hope to inspire the Mid-Ulster favourites towards a cup exit for the most successful management team in the Portadown club’s history.

“Hanover will always be special to us both and we are delighted to see it continue to move forward but it is not about us going back to the club,” said Hyndes. “It is about another opportunity for these young Portadown players to experience something so important towards what we want to help them achieve overall.”