Mikey Morton opens up on his time as manager of York City

Mikey Morton once had the opportunity to manage the club he has supported his entire life, staving clear of relegation and steadying the ship during uncertainty, an experience he would never change.

But it wasn’t an easy ride for the former York City manager, who initially joined the club as assistant manager to David Webb in December 2022 before taking the permanent hot seat role in February.

Morton’s time at York saw him work under the ownership of both Glen Henderson and Matt and Julie-Anne Uggla, where he had to handle adversity on and off the pitch as well as the pressure which comes when managing a club with high expectations, backed by thousands of supporters.

In an exclusive talk with the Press, Morton reflected on the experience of managing his boyhood club, as well as what it was like initially working under the regime of Henderson.

“First of all, I wouldn’t change the experience,” Morton told The Press.

“People laugh at me for that, but it was the hardest challenge that I have ever seen in football.

“Even speaking with some of my mentors that have managed at the top level, they couldn’t believe how many things there were to try and fix.

“The biggest thing for me was that everyone wanted York to be successful, that’s down from Hendo to the Trust.

"There’s a load of good people at York City who love the club and do some fantastic work behind the scenes.

“There were just a lot of things that weren’t in place.

“It was hostile with the things going on at the top and the fans weren’t happy.

"It was a real challenge, but the biggest shock was how far York were behind the scenes when putting things into place.

“I’ll use the example of when we were travelling to Wealdstone, we were talking to [Stuart] Maynard and their staff and they had things better in place than us, at a part-time football club.

“Again, I don’t want to blame anyone for that, but if you haven’t experienced that and don’t know what it looks like, then how can you give that knowledge or push that club in any way.

“Looking back at York as well as a fan, they have always been a big club in the league, and that’s not just me saying that as a York fan.

“If you look at York from the outside, in the National League everyone thinks they should be an EFL club and if they are in the National League North then they are paying more money than anyone else.

“I just think that they focused on getting that first team right and neglected the bits around it in what supports the players and the staff.

“Like I said, I would never change the experience as it was definitely a rollercoaster.

“It was difficult to put things into place and maybe I spent too much time trying to put things into place for York going forward and trying to professionalise some things behind the scenes, rather than just being a bit stubborn and focusing on the first team.

“That’s my personality. When you’re at York City and you’re a fan you just want to get it right, not just now but also for the future.

“Hopefully the people in place now do get the right people in the place, and understand how important it is behind the scenes to help the first team, the staff and the players to be successful.”

Morton was manager in the Summer of 2023, when Henderson’s shares of the football club were sold to Matt and Julie-Anne Uggla, who immediately improved the playing budget for the former City boss and began work on bringing back the feelgood factor around the football club.

It was a difficult summer for Morton, who found it difficult to orchestrate his recruitment plan due to the change of budget, and had job insecurities with new leadership at the top of the club.

But after a conversation with Matt, Morton was allowed the opportunity to take the club forward and into the 2023/24 Vanarama National League season, with expectations high under new ownership, and with an incredible 16 players brought in over the summer.

After six matches into the National League season, Morton was relieved of his duties after a winless start, a decision he understands. The former York manager also confirmed that his relationship with the Ugglas hadn’t soured.

Mikey Morton enjoyed the challenge of being manager of York City. (Image: Tom Poole)

Morton explained: “It happened quickly and I’m not saying anything that I haven’t already said, but I didn’t know if I was going to be in a job.

“I went away and worked on a recruitment plan, I spent hours and hours getting in touch with my contacts and getting support off of pro clubs. We tried to base it all off of data, knowledge from players that we knew from the Football League, to the National League and the National League North.

“Henderson won’t mind me saying but we were still playing with a budget and didn’t know what the budget was going to be.

“We then talked to a load of players roughly around where the budget would have been and then obviously the takeover was in.

“To be fair, everyone at the club was open and honest with me. That’s what I asked for and I said I’d continue putting things into place to try and help with whoever was coming in.

“I met with Matt, we had a good conversation and he gave me the opportunity to manage the club that I love.

“Unfortunately, I think that everything just came a bit too quick and a bit too fast. I don’t blame Matt and Julie-Anne for their decision, I’m not a bitter manager.

“It was just very hard, because we went from a core of players that we knew to a load of new players that had come in who we didn’t know about.

“We knew what they were like ability wise, but we didn’t know what they were like in terms of their character and all of that type of stuff.

“At the end of the day, everyone wanted to make an impact. Matt and Julie-Anne came in and showed that they wanted to make the squad stronger and try to get a better squad.

“I also know from experience that I’ve not worked with or seen many teams be successful with that straight away, especially when you’ve got a recruitment team behind you and knowledge.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to work at some big clubs and have worked in recruitment departments, so I know that it’s not something that happens overnight, it’s something that builds throughout a year or two.

“That is what I was trying to put in place at York, it was looking at the players that we can go after now, but we needed to build a database up for the next two or three years.

“If we lost a left-winger, then we would’ve already known what player we needed to go after, or there would have been three players after that.

“At the clubs I’ve worked at, the manager would have already known the three players to go and look at, with not just data but also the eye.

“That’s why it was difficult, when you are signing players, it is a gamble.

“When clubs are moving quickly without a recruitment plan then it can go either way, the players can also gel and it’s brilliant, or it can go south very fast.

Mikey Morton believes that Matt and Julie-Anne Uggla will succeed at York City. (Image: Tom Poole)

“That’s probably what happened last year, and even when [Neal] Ardley came in, he found it difficult and it took him time to find his feet with the squad so they just ended up in that relegation battle again.

“I’ve been in football all of my life and I’ve got experiences at a young age that I think people would dream of, so I understand what the game is like.

“It’s not easy for Matt or Julie-Anne. I understood that they took over the club, they tried to change things and put a lot of money in, they were trying to put things in place.

“I knew with the situation with me and people saying that I’m not experienced in terms of management, things were not going right.

“It’s hard, you’ve got to do what feels right at the time.

“My relationship with them is fine. We talk every now and then, not necessarily about football but Matt might ask me a couple of questions, nothing major.

“I have no issues with them. I always said to them when I left that if they ever needed any support on anything or any advice, then I’m always here.

"I do think that the Uggla's will get it right, but it will take time."

Upon Morton’s departure from the club, Uggla confirmed that there was a role available to Morton should he wish to take it, with the ex-boss confirming to the Press that it likely would have been involving the proposed ‘B’ team or under-23’s team that was rumoured to be in the works.

But Morton opted to take a step away from the club, to avoid stepping on manager Neal Ardley’s toes, admitting that it was not the right time for him to remain with the Minstermen.

“We both spoke and he mentioned that he wanted me in a role, and I do think I could offer York a lot of experience on things they need.

“I just felt that at the time, with everything going on, that one, I was exhausted, I was tired, stressed and shattered, so I needed that time.

“To be fair to Matt, he was never pushing me in any way, but I was just trying to place what it looked like.

“One of the focuses of when I was in charge was trialling the under-23’s, which is why there was another cohort of players.

“We wasn’t ready for that, it just happened and we all got a bit excited.

“These players came in and it would have been a good under-23’s team, but they just weren’t ready for the first team.

“Ardley was in and I knew it was tough. I only wanted to be in and around if I could help the manager or help the club move forward, but I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes.

“I didn’t want to get things wrong so I needed them to settle, just so I could see where things were at.

“It got to a point where I felt like I couldn’t offer them anything at that time, they just needed to focus on getting the first team right and keeping the club up.

“You don’t need extra bodies around and you don’t need people confusing stuff when you’re trying to focus.

“It’s the same as me last year when they gave me it until the end of the season. The one thing I said was to just leave me to it.

“I didn’t want any interference, I just wanted to work with the players, and I don’t know this but I assume that Ardley would have been the same.

“He won’t have wanted the extra distraction or an extra coach in there or any different advice.

“I’ll always try to help everybody and I think that I can add value to stuff, but I just didn’t think it was the right time.

“I never turned anything down, it was just a case of Matt saying that there was something there that we could talk about when I was ready.

“It just never got to that point where we felt it was right to have that conversation.”

Fast forward to just under one year since Morton left the club, he now focuses on a project with a business partner from abroad, having taken a break from management positions in football.

He has had opportunities, including the chance to work in Turkey as an assistant manager, but Morton is happy to wait for the right opportunity to step back into football.

“I’ve not looked anywhere yet if I am honest.

Mikey Morton will wait for the right opportunity to get back into the managerial hotseat. (Image: Tom Poole)

“I’ve had a few opportunities here and abroad, but when I get involved then I am fully invested.

“I need to be fully invested, but for me I want to get my project up and running, see where I am at in terms of what I want to do.

“If the right opportunity comes up, then I’ll look into it.

“I’m going to be a bit selfish now in my career, it’s got to fit for me as well.

“If it comes about, fantastic, and if it doesn’t then I’ll keep doing what I’m doing, support York on a weekend when they are playing and keep enjoying my time.”