WARRINGTON Rylands manager Neil Reynolds has revealed the victory he claims is his best moment as a coach – even topping managing a game at the iconic San Siro.

Rylands boss Reynolds managed FC United of Manchester to the Fenix Trophy semi-finals in June 2023, which were hosted at the famous home of European giants AC Milan and Inter Milan.

However, Reynolds believes Blues’ 2-1 win away at Scunthorpe United in the FA Trophy last November was more precious.

Reynolds said: “I don’t think I’ve ever had a better result than winning away at Scunthorpe, for where they are as a football club, and where we are, to go there and win in front of a really big crowd will take some beating.

“They’re riding high in the National League North on a big budget and they were in League Two in 2022, so going there and winning will take some beating, for me as a manager it is the most precious result.”

FC United lost 3-2 to BK Skjold in the semi-finals, before defeating Brera FC 1-0 to secure third place, after which Reynolds returned to school for his day job as a headteacher.

Reynolds said: “It was an odd feeling managing in the San Siro one day then being back in school at the start of the next week.

“That three-year spell was crazy, I was venturing all over Europe.

“There were rumours flying around that the final was going to be in the San Siro. We made the final four weekend and when we got there, the dream became a reality.”

The Fenix Trophy is a UEFA recognised tournament in which semi-professional teams from across Europe are invited to play based on social, historical and cultural significance.

Reynolds said: “It was the Saturday before the Champions League final [in which Inter Milan lost to Manchester City] and they’d decorated the San Siro and put up TV screens so that the fans could come and watch the final in the stadium.

“It was something incredibly special to walk out the tunnel that Inter Milan and AC Milan have been in and down this corridor that was long as a school corridor.

“I came out into the arena, looked behind me and there were a thousand FC United fans, with the noise you would’ve thought there was 80,000 of them – it was incredible it really was.”

Reynolds, who managed FC United for six years before becoming Rylands manager in September 2024, is headteacher at Blackpool & The Fylde Alternative School.

He said: “I link my day job to my Saturday afternoons, it’s about giving people another opportunity – in football you don’t always play well and get it right, it’s the same with the kids at school.

“The minute I start moaning I’ll give one of them up but I don’t think I’ll get to that soon.”

Reynolds also believes the pressures of both jobs are very similar.

“You live and die by your results in both jobs – if Ofsted come in and say you’re inadequate that could be the end of you as a headteacher,” the 47-year-old said.

“Similarly, in football, if you lose ten games on the spin and if the fans turn on you it could be the end their as well.

“But I haven’t found a better feeling than three points on a Saturday afternoon.

“Despite what I do in the week, seeing the kids’ faces and that you’re achieving something is really rewarding, but three points, the euphoria, the togetherness with the fans, the feeling you get as a manager, nothing comes close.”