An interview with: Dan Martin (Part 2)

The second and final part of Who is Dan Martin

TK: What’s it like working at the club now?

DM: I’ve worked out that Dean (Brennan) is my 8^th manager in the time I’ve been here, that’s of course including Gary Anderson and Paul Fairclough’s short spells as well, which is just crazy.

No disrespect to the others but it’s incredible how hard Dean and his coaching staff works, the amount of time he spends here, it’s very different to previous coaching staff but I do appreciate everyone has their own way of doing things.

They say in life you get out what you put in and you can see that both on and off the pitch this season.

I think you can see everyone else coming together, a lot of moving parts; like a jigsaw.

When I arrived here there was a culture of people not doing very much which was contagious and a very easy trap to fall into but the pandemic times gave us the chance for a reset and we now have a fantastic culture from top to bottom.

TK: What does the working week look like for you? Is it fairly structured or anything essentially can happen?

DM: No structure at all really! I can be dealing with as many as 20 different things that need my attention at any given time and then it’s just about prioritising. That can be anything from car park barriers needing servicing to speaking with potential sponsors; the range is vast.

I’m actually a naturally disorganised person which doesn’t sound great with that many things on the go but it’s organised chaos around me and that would only worry me if I didn’t care about the Club but I really do and so it seems to work.

So, in a nutshell not just a Commercial Manager, jack of all trades, master of none!

The working week is Mon-Fri 9-6. I’m generally here by 7.30 and away usually 11 or 12 hours later unless there’s an evening fixture. Lunchbreaks don’t exist, I’ll graze during the day and keep on top of what every department is doing, the Media team reports into me as do others, not to get involved but to know what is going on and trying to get to issues before they become bigger.

TK: How far do you drill down into things?

DM: Well, when I took on the tea hut project I did just that so that we can understand where we are at. Other than procuring a reliable operator, a big focus is on retention so I think we managed at one point to estimate within £5 of a matchday’s takings having assessed and analysed data from previous matches which is key for the operator to see so they can minimise their losses when it comes to staffing and food ordering. It’s key that we understand more like this across the Club to be able to deliver a better matchday experience.

I know there is more we can tap into as well within this area and hopefully we have the same operator again next season which will allow us to push this part further forward.

TK: How does a matchday look for you because of course that’s going to be a lot different than a standard weekday?

DM: I love a matchday! Everything we do all week, it’s the culmination for us up until the players cross that white line. We have a system that works and there are so many little things to do as well as the major ones.

I look after the match officials pre-match. I believe that anyone who comes here should be welcomed to our stadium, our home, treat them exactly as you would want to be treated, I mean why wouldn’t you?

While the match is on I’m very much about watching it, but I’ve also done a few tannoy duties, looked after hospitality, the away directors, we’re all on call if you like throughout the 90 minutes. You never know what’s going to happen.

It can be a crazy day but it also goes very quickly as well, there is never a lack of things to do.

TK: Is there a mop up operation after the game or can you pretty much turn the lights out and go home?

DM: There are sections where things still happen, the bars stay open afterwards and of course the astroturf pitches are open late, the football side itself does wind down after a while after a game.

We have two briefings a week so we can prepare for the next match and revisit the previous one for any issues, everyone has jobs to do to ensure everything happens as it should each matchday.

TK: When Dan Martin gets away from The Hive, what does he do to relax and unwind?

DM: Well I’ve started drinking Guinness! Think that must be the Irish influence or Nick Patel, one or the other! I don’t really have much time away from the Hive, I tend to treat this place as my own business, I never go to sleep with a clear head either.

That’s something I choose because I want to deliver the best, my best. I have started using the gym here early in the morning, keeping myself fresh but Dan outside of work is Dan itching to get back into work!

It’s lovely to spend time with the wife and kids when it’s not a Saturday matchday. I do love a Monday however as it’s then clarity on the weekend operation, Sunday is a bit weird for me as the only day off in the week, the one day to be reading your blogs uninterrupted!

I try and read everything to be honest, social media, the Only Barnet forum, to try and understand the landscape from a fan’s perspective, it’s understanding the tone, a gauge of where we’re at. Whether the team is doing well or not so well, it’s trying to find the real issues so that we can raise them and deal with them.

And I’d like to think we do get across most things; Tony is so very passionate and committed; I can only think this is as it was when he first took over the Club. No doubt as well he is a fantastic businessman and expects the criticism that comes with owning a football club but at the same time, he deserves a lot of credit. I’ve been at the Club for almost 4 years which is 13% of his tenure and every day of that I see someone who strives to be better, do as much as possible for the Club and the fans and those who buy into that, like me, hope it comes across more often than not. We can’t be right all the time but we really do put in the effort.

My thanks to Dan for his time and I hope you all enjoyed reading behind the scenes.