After resetting his career at Haverfordwest the Belgian coach takes his Club Brugge team to Manchester City. In 2022, Haverfordwest County finished one place above the Cymru Premier relegation zone, a fine achievement for part-timers. The man behind the survival quest, the Belgian Nicky Hayen, was an unlikely dugout dweller in Welsh football but it proved an awakening for the club and their manager, who will lead Club Brugge against Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday.
![[Will Unwin]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2024/10/03/Will_Unwin.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Both were in a difficult place when Hayen arrived in west Wales on New Year’s Eve 2021 to assume the dual role of manager and technical director. The Bluebirds were in a battle for survival and Hayen was looking to rebuild his career after relegation with Waasland-Beveren. It was an unlikely marriage that lasted less than a year, but still left an indelible mark.
![[Nicky Hayen reacts on the touchline at San Siro.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c1c065e95c1f0fa8acbcfa4c7232921d54830014/0_114_2740_1644/master/2740.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
“We both got a bit of grief off our families, but we actually agreed all the terms on Christmas Day,” says Haverfordwest’s owner Rob Edwards. “He was in Wales by the 2nd or 3rd of January and off he went. The rest is history, as they say.”. It was easy to see why Haverfordwest would want such a highly qualified and experienced coach, but what attracted Hayen to second-from-bottom Haverfordwest? “God knows,” responds Edwards. “I think it was a challenge – he wanted to make a bit of a mark. He had an unceremonious departure from his previous club and had a difficult time there. He had a bit of a point to prove.
“We just struck up a really good relationship straight away. He’s very humble, honest. I like to think I’m the same. We just had open conversations about what we could achieve, what I wanted to achieve. He would have loved to have been the first manager in 20 years to take the club into Europe. Unfortunately, he wasn’t around long enough to do that.”.
