Kevin Wilkin (born 1 October 1967) is an English

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. He is the manager of

AFC Telford United AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. Currently members of the National League North, they ...

Playing career

Born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

but raised in the Cambridgeshire village of Milton, Wilkin started his career with hometown side Cambridge City, before moving into the Football League and turning professional with

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

. Later spells followed with Rushden and Diamonds, Nuneaton Borough, Cambridge City and Grantham Town, before returning to Nuneaton as player/assistant manager to Roger Ashby in 2004.

Managerial career

Nuneaton Borough

Following the sacking of Ashby in 2006, he was appointed caretaker manager and was subsequently given the job on a permanent basis. After Nuneaton Borough were liquidated at the end of the 2007–08 season he was appointed manager of the reformed club,. He guided the team to a second-place finish in the

Southern League Division One Midlands The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...

and promotion at the first attempt, beating

Chasetown Chasetown is a village in the town of Burntwood in Staffordshire, England. It is split between the civil parishes of Burntwood and Hammerwich. History Chasetown developed in the mid 19th century as a coal mining village. At first the village wa ...

in the play-off final. The next season, he guided the team to a second successive promotion, beating Chippenham Town in the play-off final after finishing second in the Southern League Premier Division. In 2012, Nuneaton Borough finished the season in fifth place in the

Conference North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

and won the play-off final, after beating

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

1–0, guiding them back to the Conference Premier after a nine-year absence.

Wrexham

Wilkin was appointed manager of Nuneaton's Conference Premier rivals

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

on a two-year contract on 20 March 2014. Wilkin's first game in charge was against Salisbury City, where his new side drew 1–1. He made changes to the squad early, by re-signing former youngster Bradley Reid on loan, whilst releasing

Brett Ormerod Brett Ryan Ormerod (born 18 October 1976) is an English retired professional footballer. A forward, he made 340 appearances in the Football League, including 215 for Blackpool, for whom he is the only player to have scored in all of the top four ...

. He saw out the season finishing in a club record low place of 17th. Over the summer of 2014 he completely re-shaped the club, releasing Robert Ogleby, Kyle Parle, David Artell, Jay Colback and Joe Anyinsah, Kevin Thornton and Stephen Wright and Leon Clowes. Although Wilkin made attempts to negotiate renewing contracts, Johnny Hunt and Joslain Mayebi left the club. His recruitment was successful over the summer, with Blaine Hudson the first arrival from

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

. More followed as Wes York and

Louis Moult Louis Elliot Moult (born 14 May 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Motherwell, on loan from Burton Albion. Moult, a prolific goal scorer in Stoke City's academy and reserve side, appeared in a Premier League ...

followed from former club Nuneaton. Others included

Manny Smith Emmanuele Gabriel Smith (born 8 November 1988) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender for Walsall F.C., Walsall, Notts County F.C., Notts County, Wrexham A.F ...

Connor Jennings Connor Joseph Jennings (born 29 October 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for League Two side Tranmere Rovers. Jennings started his career with Stalybridge Celtic in the 2008–09 season, staying with them unt ...

and Dan Bachmann on loan from Stoke City. The season began with a win over Dartford, with Wes York bagging a brace. But the first home game of the season saw Wrexham lose 3–0 to Gateshead. League form dipped over the season, but an FA Cup run saw Wrexham reach the 3rd round, where they faced Stoke City. Mark Carrington gave Wrexham the lead against the Premier League side, but they went on to lose 3–1. Wilkin used the loan system, bringing in the likes of Scott Tancock (Swansea City), Joe Thompson (Bury), Jon Flatt (Wolves),

Dan Holman Daniel George Holman (born 5 June 1990) is an English professional footballer who last played as a forward for Torquay United. He began his career with a number of Northampton-based youth clubs, including Northampton ON Chenecks and Long Buc ...

(Colchester United), Sam Finley (TNS), Johnny Hunt (Cambridge United), James Pearson (Leicester City) and Kieron Morris (Walsall). Wilkin's successes in the cups continued in the FA Trophy, as he reached the Semi-Final against Torquay United. Wrexham beat them in both the home and away tie to progress to

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

. Although doing well in the Trophy, Wrexham's form dipped, winning just twice in the seven games between the semi and the final. At Wembley Wrexham faced

North Ferriby United North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane. F ...

, a part-time side from the Conference North. Wrexham lead 2–0 through Louis Moult and Jay Harris. But United came back to level at 2–2, before extra-time and penalties saw the FA Trophy go North Ferriby's way. This would be Wilkin's last game, as he was sacked by the board less than 24 hours later.

Brackley Town

On 21 September 2015, Wilkin was appointed manager of

National League North The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Syst ...

club Brackley Town. On 20 May 2018, Brackley defeated National League club

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

in the 2018 FA Trophy Final to lift the trophy for the first time in the club's history. On 29 September 2022, Wilkin was sacked as manager with the club sitting in eighth position in the league.

AFC Telford United

On 10 October 2022, Wilkin was appointed manager at

Honours

Wrexham * FA Trophy runner-up: 2014–15 Brackley Town * FA Trophy: 2017–18

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkin, Kevin 1967 births Living people Footballers from Cambridge English footballers Men's association football forwards Cambridge City F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Grantham Town F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Nuneaton Borough F.C. managers Wrexham A.F.C. managers Brackley Town F.C. managers National League (English football) managers AFC Telford United managers