Ahead of beginning his first season with Loudoun United as the team’s Manager (their third in their eight year history, we spent some time with coach Anthony Limbrick discussing a wide variety of topics). Note: This has been slightly edited for clarity.

The District Press: So for those unfamiliar, could you give us an elevator summary of sorts on your background. 


Anthony Limbrick: Sure. I was originally born in Australia as you can probably tell by my accent, but moved to the UK when I was 18, 19, with the dream of becoming a professional footballer. I got there and realized how difficult it was and how elevated the standards were compared to where I was playing at the time, and I had a bad leg injury (where) I broke my leg. I could still come back and play, but I decided to start coaching there and then, and move my dream from being a player into becoming a coach. That was a difficult period, but I really enjoyed that process of coaching when I was very young. Virtually at 20 I started coaching, and worked my way up from coaching in school programs, to afterschool clubs, to working on some of the toughest estates in London as well with disadvantaged kids there, and had a real experience of different grassroots coaching. Then I managed to get on the UEFA A license which was a big achievement for me at the time. I was working a non-league football two, which was the harsh realities of football, which was very tough, and got a job at the Football Association’s skills coach, so working in schools, after school clubs, et cetera. And then once I sort of combined all that for sort of five, six, seven years, I was fortunate enough to get the job at Southampton Football Club when they were in League One as an Academy Coach. I had five great years there, worked with some brilliant players, saw the club progress through into the Premier League, and that was a real great learning curve for me to work with players like Luke Shaw, James Ward-Prowse, Calum Chambers, those type of level players. 
(And) some really good managers there as well, Nigel Adkins, I still speak to him quite regularly. We had Mauricio Pochettino there too, which was a big influence on my career as well as Ronald Koeman, who was there the last season I was there. 
When I finished up as the Under 18s youth team coach. So that was really good times. Long hours, lots of time on the grass, but a great experience. 


Then I went to West Ham, another Academy, but it’s totally different academy in London, different sort of type of player that we had there, but really enjoyed that experience too. We had Declan Rice there, I saw him come through. 
He was in a bit of the older age groups than I was working with, but it was good to see him come through and enjoyed my time there as well. I managed to get on the UEFA Pro license, when I was at West Ham, which was good, I really enjoyed that course with the FA. Then I went into senior management at Woking in the National League, in senior men’s football then at Grimsby (League Two) as an assistant. I was head coach at TNS, the New Saints in the Welsh Premier League, which I really enjoyed. 
We won the League and the Cup double, but then (we) got to compete in Europe, which was amazing. UEFA Champions League, Europa qualifiers, as well as Europa Conference League. So I had a just a great, (I) keep saying the word ‘experience,’ but that was an excellent experience. 
(To) think about it, just to coach over two legs we played Viktoria Plzen, who are now (a) regular Champions League team, going away from home, playing in those stadiums. We won 4-2 at home, and we lost away and lost on penalty shootouts, and we got to that. After that, I went to Peterborough for a little while back in youth football (and) really enjoyed linking young players with the 1st team. Then my last stint was at Hartlepool United as first team coach and then was head coach there in the National League; big club, big expectation, I thought I did really well there, we got the 2nd highest finish in 10 years, but left my job in the summer. 
Had a little bit of time out to regroup, to evaluate, watch a lot of games, gain a lot of experience, and then, here I am with you fine people, as they say. I think (it’s) maybe a bit of a different career, I think you would say. 
I never been a player. I’ve come through a different route, coached in a lot of countries, coached a lot of different age groups, have a big youth football influence. A manager once said to me, “Once you’re a developer, you’re always a developer,” and I really do believe in that, whether they’re 30 year old players or 18 year old players that we’ve got on loan from good clubs here in the MLS, I think you can always develop and make people better and make those players better, so always going without attitude, and I think that’ll always be with me throughout my career.

DP: Was the time away after Hartlepool a conscious choice? As everyone was getting back into the fall, how tough was it to keep your tools sharp?

AL: I think when I first found myself out of work after Woking back in 2018, that was the difficult one, because that was the first time I was out of work. I’d always been coaching in some capacity for probably 15 years before that. So I found that bit difficult, but once you get back into it, you realize that as a manager, a head coach, you are judged on the results, and it happens to many, many of the best coaches around. So I think I really maximize the time when I’m out now to study, to learn, to evaluate. 
I did a lot of work this time in particular, on my session plans, linked with the video, linked to a GPS, linked with the things that I’m working on. So I really enjoyed that time out and made use of it to get to a lot of games, meet a lot of people that you wouldn’t have time to meet. Being able to do that work that you don’t do when you’re in because it’s so busy. Even now I’ve been in for four or five weeks, I think it’s our sixth week of being in, and you forget how busy it is. 
So I actually now enjoy that timeout, good time with the family. A great time to evaluate and go again.

DP: In speaking with Karl (Sharman) and Alen (Marcina), they had mentioned that player development and alignment with the game model were a couple of reasons why they liked bringing you on, but I was wondering what the pitch was from them for you to come to Loudoun because admittedly, this is a bit of a leap from your past stints. 
Was there something that you really felt in tune with from what they were saying?

AL: I think there’s good people here at Loudoun, they really liked where they’re going and what they want to do, and I think that fitted in with my culture, I really like the environment here, what they’re doing with Virginia Revolution as well, the coaches in those Academy places that we’ve been linking in regularly. 
We had a lot of young players train and play in the 1st team this preseason which has been good for them. And I like that combination and the link I’ve always worked with that, so that worked really well. I think, obviously, with Alen’s exceptional experience in recruitment, coaching, winning the USL, was a big pull for me to work with someone like him. 
I’ve really known a lot from him so far, so much, and that’s been a big help, along with Karl and the vision that he has, along with the ownership group. I was really impressed when I spoke to them, and it’s definitely a challenge coming to USL, I think it’s a very good league. I think it’s a really good league from what I’ve seen, very good coaches, good players, differentiation of different teams, different styles, and different level of player throughout, but I’ve been really impressed with that so far. So putting all that together, I’ve never been afraid to try something as well, which I think is really good. 
I think that’s how you learn and develop and get better. I’ve always had the pull to come to America in some capacity. I’ve always really wanted to test myself at whatever that level was, and getting to know the USL more, I’m really excited to test myself in this environment. 
So there really was a lot of factors I think, that contributed which made it a good fit for myself, and hopefully for the club too.

DP: In listening to your recent talk with Nick Atkins, you had mentioned that you were speaking with some of the Loudoun players as you were preparing to come over. How difficult was it to introduce yourself virtually to everybody? How difficult was it to manage that distance both before and during camp?

AL: I had a little bit of time before preseason started in early January where planned with the staff, who have been really supportive and great. You’ve got Dario Pot, who’s very experienced in the league, he’s helped a lot with the preseason planning and things like that. Drew Skundrich was a captain last year, is a fantastic person, and I’m so pleased to have him on the, the staff, he can be a good link with the players. He gets this club, he’s won here with this club, made the playoffs last season, and is just a really well respected person around the group. So I think the combination of all the other staff as well and the new staff coming in really helped me get settled in early on. I got here a couple of days into preseason and it was a bit of a quick transition coming in, but I think we were planned and well prepared for that. 
Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve always tried to get those relationships with the players and the staff. I think that’s the most important thing, building that relationship with them, finding out what motivates them and then getting to work on the football part. I think the football’s actually second as opposed to the person and the motivation of what gets them going, so that was really important to me. Getting around each player with individual meetings, having a lot of meetings with the group as well, meeting individually with the staff I think really helped, and there’s good people here, I must say, really good people. I’ve been impressed with the level of the work and the hard work and the consistency shown so far. The people here want to win, they want to do well, they want to help each other, and that’s good for me. I really buy into that.

DP: How have you found the lads so far? How’s the process been for you in terms of getting everybody together for preseason? Has there been something that’s been a surprise or anything that’s been sort of unexpected as you’ve been kind of working with with this group and preseason in general?

AL: Well, the weather’s been a challenge. 
God, the snow, I’d never seen snow like that in my life ever before, and obviously that did affect our training program. It was difficult here, we had to clear the pitches, we had to look for indoor venues. So that was a challenge, I must admit, in terms of the program. We had to change the program slightly and adapt to that. I’m used to preseason being in the summer, it’s the only time it’s over hot in the UK during that time. So, I think the weather was a bit of a challenge with the program. 
In terms of the players, though, I found the players really good. I’ve been very impressed with the level of player here. The ones who have stayed from last season, new signings that we’ve made, seeing them up close, always like to judge the players when I see them up close. 
And looking at players like (Abdellatif) Aboukoura, Quimi Ordonez, seeing them up close, as you can watch a lot of video as much as you like, but when you see them in front of your eyes, in certain sessions and trainings that you’ve put on before. It’s been good and I’ve enjoyed that.

DP: There’s a certain sense of self-awareness when it comes to 2nd division soccer or you could also see it in lower level football too, where maybe a player thinks that he doesn’t have it, or he’s not good enough to move on to like the next level or has a sense that he’s not going to go much further than what he has now. Have you’ve encountered that here or a similar experience to the UK and how have you found a way around it? 


AL: It’s a really good question, an interesting one, because I think that I’ve worked at top academies with top prospects who believe that they can go and play at a high level, but then also worked in the lower leagues of England or lower levels with players who could find what you’ve said there. I think you’d be surprised, or I was surprised when I first worked with top Academy players as well, that sometimes they have those feelings, too, that they can think that maybe they’re not quite at the level to go higher. But then also I think these guys are fully professional. 
We’ve got a couple of players who have played over 300 games in the league who I really respect. They’ve been a great help around the training ground. You’ve got Bolu (Akinyode), you’ve got Kwame (Awuah), you’ve got James (Murphy) who’s played a lot of games. You’ve got Pedro Santos, who’s just an exceptional pro. The way he trains, it’s just a great example for all the young players or even the old players. He’s just at it every day and his quality’s immense, but it’s just focused on dedication, even at his age, with the experience he’s got is just second to none, he’s actually coaching in our Academy as well at the moment, so he’s passing on that knowledge. They’re really proud guys who want to do well at their level, they want to win, they want to win for Loudoun as well, they want to build on what was the good work that happened last season. So I think finding out about that individual first and foremost, but I haven’t found too much to be an issue, if that makes sense. For example, we’ve got Jack Panayotou, who clearly wants to go and back and play in the MLS, and is using his loan as a development tour. For him, we’re gonna individually develop him to hopefully get the games and the numbers and the goals and the assists and the performances that then put him back to where he is. Then you’ve got some of the older seasoned veterans in the team who are there and their motivations for different reasons to win, to finish strong, to get another contract, et cetera. And I think the balance of them, I think they need each other. 
It’s great for Jack to lean on those guys like a Pedro Santos who’s been there and done it. But then also for those guys to use the younger players to help them too. So I think we’ve got a good mix here actually that I really think we’ve got a good mix on that side.

DP: We talked earlier about how your wife and son didn’t come over, how hard is that for you? You’ve been doing a lot to hit the ground running and maintain pace. 
And you’ve liked to try to do journaling and and be present, so how much of a toll has it been on your mind or in your heart that you don’t get as much time with them for the time being?

AL: It’s obviously a challenge, I’ve worked at jobs that have been away from my family and my home before. 
I’ve obviously moved away from Australia to follow the dream of being in football, so I’m kind of used to that sacrifice in many ways, it’s probably not a normal life. I think you could understand the life of a manager, a head coach, where you’re in jobs, you’re out of work, some are short term, some are long term. I think being able to settle in maybe without the distractions of the family has actually helped the work life, because of just being able to concentrate on that. For example, we had one player who’s come recently, and he came with his family, his young child, his wife, and it’s been difficult for him to get settled. He’s had to find the house, sort the car out, the bank account, everything. So it’s been a challenge for him, and we’ve spoken about it regularly, that sometimes it might be good that the family, initially, is good that they’re not there, but obviously, you miss them. 
I’ve got a five year old son who’s football mad, and wants to know which kit he’s getting, the home kit or the away kit, and he can’t wait to have both. But he’s looking forward to coming over and watching the games, he’s right into football as well. 
So I think it’ll be a great environment for when they’re over here, they’ll really love it when they’re here, it’s a great place, and I’m looking forward to him coming. I probably feel for my family back home who have to deal with me not there, that’s probably the challenge! But I think getting into good habits can help, I try and stay fit, try and get the rest time as well in, the downtime on the days off, but I think I have a good overall blend. 
I find the fitness in looking after yourself is really important for me. I find that helps me mentally, stay in the right shape and make good decisions.

DP: I usually ask the same thing, are there any last words, final thoughts, things that that you want people to know or that I may not have covered or anything relating to the season. 


AL: I’m just looking forward to meeting all the fans. From where I’m from, you play all your preseason games, and you get to see all the fans because they all come to the games. Whereas here it’s a little bit different. So I’m really looking forward to the season opener and seeing those fans, really looking forward to that. We’re hoping that we can get a team that replicates them, and fight, be determined and win games, and show effort and heart that replicate what we are as staff and the good work that we’re all putting in, and we want to replicate that on the pitch. We want to put it on a good show for them, be competitive, and I’m just looking forward to meeting them and seeing the atmosphere of the grounds and creating some good memories this season.