Photo – RB Media
Author – Ben Monti
With the World Cup reaching the business end and England still in the mix, it almost feels as though one football season has blended straight into the next. It doesn’t seem five minutes since Harborough Town were celebrating the Southern League Premier Central title, yet here I was back at the Beehive for the Bees’ first home pre-season friendly. A night off from match reporting, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Harborough Town’s new official club captain, Connor Kennedy.
A no-nonsense midfield general, Connor has represented the club as on-field captain for the past few seasons, overseeing a period of huge success, becoming the backbone of the team, and a firm favourite amongst the faithful. With Bees legend and former club captain Ben Williams stepping down, he always felt like the natural successor. At the time of speaking, Connor has made 119 appearances, scoring 21 goals. Last season, despite spending time on the sidelines after suffering an injury in a crunching 50-50, he still made over 30 appearances in all competitions, leading Harborough to their highest ever finish, winning the Southern League Premier Central title and promotion to the National League North.
One thing that stood out throughout my conversation was how clearly Connor sees himself as part of the team, not above it, and how willing he is to share responsibility with his teammates. He mentions on multiple occasions how great the lads are and how everyone chips in, never taking the credit for himself and instead sharing it with those around him. It’s exactly the sort of leader you’d want and perhaps explains why he’s so respected within the dressing room. It was a privilege to speak to Connor about football, his captaincy, welcoming his second son, and his desire for England to win the World Cup despite admitting, in a humorous exchange, that he is, in fact, a Scotland fan.
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Ben: Connor, firstly, congratulations on becoming club captain. Despite being captain on the pitch for the last couple of seasons, what was your reaction when Mitch told you the job was officially yours?
Connor: Yeah, obviously I’ve done it before at other clubs. But since I joined, I’ve enjoyed my time here. It’s a great bunch of lads. There are probably a lot of leaders in the changing room anyway, so it’s massive. It’s a big thing, but there are a few people that chip in anyway.
Ben: So, is there an official leadership group?
Connor: I wouldn’t say there’s an official leadership group, but everyone chips in.
Ben: You can tell from the success this group has had that there’s a really good mentality in the dressing room. Does becoming club captain change how you feel about Harborough at all, or is it much the same?
Connor: No, it’s much the same. I’ve enjoyed every minute at this club. Obviously, the FA Cup run, winning the league… It’s just been enjoyable, so to be club captain is really good.
Ben: Does Harborough feel like home now?
Connor: Yeah. This will be my fourth season, won’t it? So yeah, it definitely feels like home.
Ben: One thing that stands out about your career is you’ve had long spells at Corby, Kettering and now Harborough. What is it that makes you settle at a football club?
Connor: I was at Corby for six or seven seasons, then three or four at Kettering, and this will be my fourth here. I tend to stay for a few years, especially if I enjoy it. That’s the main thing. You’re here Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, so you want to enjoy it. You want to be around a good group of lads, and we’ve obviously got a great group of lads in there.
Ben: You mentioned the FA Cup run and winning the league. Looking back over your time at Harborough, what’s been your favourite moment in a Harborough shirt?
Connor: For me personally, I’d probably say winning the league. In the FA Cup with Reading, I ended up getting suspended the game before, so I missed the Reading game, which for the club is probably the biggest achievement, getting that far. Even though I wasn’t playing, it was obviously a great day out. But personally, winning the league definitely stands out because I was involved on the final day and the celebrations.
Ben: Every captain’s different. You’ve got your Odegaards, who lead by example, and your Roy Keanes, who’ll give you a bit of a battering. What sort of captain are you?
Connor: I’d probably say more like Roy Keane. I probably put myself about. I’m not as loud in the changing room, but on the pitch, I’ll try and pull people about and help people out. I’d say they probably call on me more than anyone else to gee everyone up.
Ben: We’ve brought in four new signings already, with maybe a couple more to come. As captain, do you see it as part of your job to help those lads settle in?
Connor: Yeah, you’ve got to, don’t you? But we’ve got such a good changing room that everyone welcomes the new signings in. They’ve all come in, they’re all nice lads, and I think they’re all good additions in their own way. It’s quite easy with the changing room we’ve got because it’s not all on me. Everyone chips in.
Ben: Is that togetherness one of the biggest strengths of this squad?
Connor: Yeah, that’s it. I think to be successful you’ve got to have that. You can’t have a group of five over here and four over there. If everyone’s together, I think it shows on the pitch, and I think it definitely did last year.
Ben: You’ve played in the National League North before with Kettering. What’s the biggest difference between Step 2 and Step 3?
Connor: I’d say more than half the teams in there will be full-time, so it’ll be a test. But I think the way we play might suit us a bit more. We don’t concede many goals, we’re quite a compact group, and I think when teams come on to us, the counterattack might suit us next year. It’s going to be a tough league with some big clubs in there, but I’m looking forward to it.
Ben: Last season you came up against a few Step 2 sides in the FA Trophy and FA Cup and more than held your own. Does that give you confidence this group can make a really good account of itself in the National League North?
Connor: You want to say the objective is to stay up, but I think everybody in there is hungry. We probably want to do better than that and maybe try to push on. It’s a tough league, and it’s our first season, so you don’t really know what to expect. I don’t know if many of the lads have played at this level, but hopefully we can do a bit more than just battle against relegation.
Ben: As one of the lads who has played at this level before, have you found yourself passing on any advice to those that haven’t?
Connor: I think the biggest thing is that we probably won’t get as many chances as we did last year, so we’re going to have to be really clinical. We’re a tight-knit group anyway, so I think we just need to carry on playing how we did last year. Everyone always puts 100% in, and we’ve just got to put our bodies on the line for points. I don’t think it’s anything different to last year, really.
Ben: I suppose it’s about reminding the forwards they might not get as many chances as they did last season. Away from football, you’ve had a pretty big year as well. You’ve recently welcomed your second son, haven’t you?
Connor: Second child, yeah. Second son.
Ben: There’s quite a gap between the two, isn’t there?
Connor: Yeah. My first son’s 10, so there’s quite a gap.
Ben: Has it felt like becoming a dad all over again?
Connor: Do you know what? It was that long ago I’d completely forgotten what it was like. It is like having your first child again. It’s magical having children. Trying to juggle work and everything else is tough, but we’ll make it work.
Ben: You’ve got a full-time job, football and a young family. That’s a lot to balance. How do you manage it all?
Connor: Like I say, it is like having your first child again, but I’ve done it before, so I know I’ll be able to do it. My missus will help out a lot, the family will help out, and we’ll make it work.
Ben: Finally, is there anything you’d like to say to the Bees supporters ahead of the new season?
Connor: The support was great last year. We just need the numbers again this season to keep us going and get behind us. Especially on the away days, they turned out in numbers, and they probably don’t realise how much it helps. It’ll be tough with the distances this season, but the more people we have there, the more it helps us.
Ben: One last thing… England. Are we winning the World Cup?
Connor: Don’t ask me, I’m a Scotland fan!
Ben: You’re a Scotland fan? That’s funny because before we started, I said to the media lads that with a name like Connor Kennedy, I assumed you might have an allegiance to Ireland. So, are you supporting Argentina tomorrow?
Connor: No, I’m not one of those Scotland fans! I’ve got one English grandad and one Scottish grandad, so I ended up choosing Scotland for some stupid reason. It’d be nice to see England win it. I think it’d be good for the country and good for English football in general. I think they’ll beat Argentina, but I think they’ll lose in the final.
Ben: Brilliant. Cheers, mate. Really appreciate your time.
Connor: Thanks, mate. Take care.