Limbrick, originally from Tasmania, has spent the last 15 years building a promising career as a football coach in the UK. The 35-year-old, who originally moved to Britain to try and forge a professional playing career, turned to coaching as a 19-year-old and has gone on to work with the likes of Ronald Koeman, Nigel Adkins and Mauricio Pochettino.
With Aussie coaches virtually unheard of in England, Limbrick has forged a path with his time at the academies of Premier League clubs Southampton and West Ham, and then with a stint in charge of National League outfit Woking FC. In June last year he joined the staff of Grimsby boss Michael Jolley.
After the Mariners battled relegation in 2017-2018, this season the Lincolnshire side are comfortably mid-table in 11th spot, only seven points below the playoff places. The northern English coast is a long way from Limbrick’s upbringing in Tasmania.
"I was born in Hobart, I played football in Hobart and Launceston. [But] I always had the dream of coming over to the UK to be a footballer,” he explains to The World Game.
“I didn’t really think of anything else. That was the sport I played and what I wanted to do.”
Limbrick moved to Queensland as a teenager first, playing under future Central Coast Mariners coach Tony Walmsley, before a spell in Brisbane with Rochdale Rovers. At 18 he headed overseas to try and crack the UK, but an injury setback put him on the path to coaching early.
“I reckon I had trials with that many teams, I couldn’t tell you, everywhere – Scotland, England, Wales – the lot at low levels,” Limbrick admits.
“I didn’t get offered a contract at all and I found it really difficult as a very small, technical player. When I came over here I was like wow this is the most physical game I’ve ever had. The physicality and the intensity was so different.
“I started playing a bit of non-league football at the club called Wingate and Finchley, in north London. I broke my tibia, it was a bad break. I could come back and play after that but for some reason I just knew the minute I broke my leg I would never play professional football.
“It was very strange. I decided to retire at that moment and become a coach. I knew I didn’t have what it took to be a professional player. I had a lot of people telling me, friends and family, to come back to Australia.
“And I had a lot of people telling me here to keep playing as long as you can. I understand that. But I found my path really suited me as it allowed me to really dedicate myself to coaching.
“I’ve been to that many clubs and worked with that many managers I felt like, I didn’t realize it at the time, but before I came to the UK I trained very hard and got myself in very good shape. So I learned about diet, nutrition and training methods. I really studied the game before that.
“I watched a lot of video, I was a left back so I sort of was training myself to be a coach without really knowing it. It was a big decision and one I didn’t take easily. It probably fuelled my desire to be good at coaching because of the failure I had as a player.
“I think a lot of players come over from Australia and say ‘I was good enough, I didn’t get the opportunity’. I had the opportunity but I found out I wasn’t quite there at the level.
“I didn’t realise that at the time, but that was the best thing that could have happened for my coaching career.”
Limbrick starting coaching in schools, working with pre-schoolers initially, while also taking charge of Borehamwood’s youth team. He then moved up to Wingate and Finchley’s Under-18s and reserves, before serving as an assistant coach to the first-team.
“I was quite determined at the time not to get a ‘real job’, I wanted to really dedicate myself to coaching,” he says.
“That was very difficult at the time – it didn’t pay very well, I wasn’t very qualified and probably didn’t know what I was doing. It was hard. But I managed to scrape by and that was the start of my coaching career.
“At 22 I was working with men in senior men’s football at night, then doing the FA Skills program during the day. I got a good insight into how to educate players and learn different coaching methods during the day, and then go and put it into practice in the night with senior men.
“That really molded me and shaped me.”
Limbrick earned his coaching badges and did his UEFA A license course with Perth Glory boss Tony Popovic. In 2012 he was offered a job with Southampton’s academy in charge of the Under-14s.
The Tasmanian spent five years with the Saints in various roles. At St Mary’s Stadium he thrived, learning daily off the likes of Adkins and Pochettino, and working with young stars such as Luke Shaw and Callum Chambers.
“Once I got the A License I knew I wanted to go into professional academy football because I hadn’t really worked with academy players,” Limbrick says.
“The Southampton job came up, I applied and went down and interviewed and got it. They were then in League One under Nigel Adkins. It was a great experience for me.
“I was very lucky to see a number of good managers work. There was Nigel Adkins, Maurizio Pochettino, Ronald Koeman. I did the Under-14s, then the 16s and then the 18s.
“I still speak to Nigel now. He’s been great for me as I’m come into the senior men’s game. I get a lot of value from him.
"I really enjoyed watching and learning from Maurizo because he was a new style, a new philosophy. I hadn’t seen teams press with that tempo and intensity before. I learnt a lot from him from training sessions and managing players and about giving young players an opportunity. That really stuck with me.
"All three managers were very, very different and I was fortunate to have a great grounding.”
Limbrick left Southampton in 2015 and after a brief stint as assistant coach of the England Under-17 national team, he joined West Ham’s academy. Then in May 2017 an opportunity to manage Woking FC, then in the National League, arose.
“I’d been in academy football for nine years. I’d always wanted to work at the highest level I could,” he says.
“I wanted to coach senior men and coach as high as I can. I was quite determined to show what I’d learnt in academy football and in developing players, and developing individual players to make them better to help the team win. I think I proved that for most of the time there.”
At the Cardinals Limbrick became one of the youngest managers in the National League and started the season impressively, helping the club into the second round of the FA Cup with an upset over League One side Bury. But in April, after a nine-game winless run and a spate of injuries, he left Woking.
“We had a great FA Cup run, draw with Bury and then beat them when they were in League One,” he says.
“They were two leagues above. We’d just gone full-time there so it was a big step there. It was difficult in January, we sold a couple of our best players, that’s sort of what non-league clubs have to do.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t reinvest that money back into the squad. We had a lad we sold to Peterborough, we had a lad on loan from Charlton and we sold our striker to Ross County.
“So the front three players left. We tried to get the players in from the budget we were allowed to, but unfortunately we couldn’t get as good as we had. I don’t think you can ever complain about that as a manager.
“I could have stayed in a safe environment in academy football and not been with the fear of the axe. But that’s what its all about. Once you get sacked once it puts it into perspective for you.
“Everyone said to me you're not a manager until you get the sack. It’s a setback and something you want to move on from. If you can’t handle it then you shouldn’t go into first-team football."
Limbrick is enjoying his time with Grimsby, who are unbeaten in their past five league fixtures.
“I knew the ‘Gaffer’ well,” he says.
“When that opportunity came up… I wouldn’t have just gone and work with any manager. It was an easy decision. We had a tough start to the season, we had 11/12 new players coming in.
“We’re back on track now. We’re slowly climbing the table. The team almost got relegated last season, so we want to improve on that. Build as much as we can and come away from that relegation area.”
Limbrick has had to fight tooth and nail to prove himself and break into the coaching industry in England. The lack of possessing a big-name and elite playing experience, like that of fellow Aussies such as former Notts Country manager Harry Kewell and ex-Shrewsbury Town assistant John Filan, has been another barrier to overcome.
“Early on it was really hard because no one had seen an Australian coach before who’d never played, who’d never been a professional,” he reveals.
“When you’re not a professional player anyway you have to be even better at your craft. So I made a decision early on to get better on my communication, my delivery of coaching paths, my knowledge of the game because I couldn’t rely on a professional playing background.
“I’ve always felt I have had to prove myself. However, I think that’s a good thing because it’s forced me to be better at what I do. I've been here in the UK for 15 years and worked very hard.
“It’s taken a long time. It is a long process, but I think it needs to be. You need to do your apprenticeships.”
Not all top coaches have been great professional players, with Jose Mourinho the prime example. The Portuguese manager had a modest playing career in his homeland but worked his way up into taking charge of Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
“I want to try and coach or manage as high as I can,” Limbrick says.
“If that’s as an assistant, I’d be more than willing to do that. But I’ve also got ambitions of being a manager – whether that’s here or overseas. Eventually though, I’ve got time on my hands, I’m only 35.
“The good thing about football in England is there’s different opportunities for you. You can go down the assistant route, first-team coach route at a high level and then go down the management path. I think eventually I’d like to manage, but I’m very happy with what I’m doing at the moment.”
Limbrick hasn’t ruled out a move home one day and keeps an eye on the A-League. He has watched with interest as Brisbane Roar search for a new head coach.
“I lived and played football in Queensland and Brisbane for many years and know the city and the club very well,” he says.
“The Roar is a big club with a great history and they have some very good young and up and coming talented players coming through the system.
"I have interest in the A-League. If the right opportunity came up and the right club with the right project, then I’d definitely be open to that.
“I do watch the A-League, I keep an eye on it. I think there’s good players out there and it’s a good platform for managers.”
