Ben Garner says his early days in charge of Bristol Rovers was "the most difficult period" of his life, as he had to step away from the team due to his daughter's illness.
Garner was appointed in December 2019 and a difficult start in the dugout was overshadowed by his daughter being taken ill with suspected meningitis less than three weeks into the job. He was granted leave before returning to work a fortnight later.
During his time at the Gas, Garner leaned on mentor Steve Coppell, the former Bristol City and Reading manager who knew well from his time as a coach at Crystal Palace, bringing him in to help at Rovers in an unofficial capacity. Speaking to The Times, Garner revealed his assistance stretched beyond just tactical conundrums as the Gas struggled for form, offering assurance during a hugely challenging time at home.
“When I first went into Bristol Rovers, Steve Coppell was a great help for me,” he said. “That was the most difficult period of my life. I’d worked all my life for that opportunity.
“Coupled with it being my first job, my daughter was unwell and in and out of hospital. They initially diagnosed her with meningitis, so I took two weeks’ compassionate leave and then another doctor said 'It’s not meningitis, it’s PANS disease (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome)', like a bacterial infection and if she got a cold or virus she’d end up in hospital.
“She lost her speech. It went on for a period of four, five weeks initially where you really couldn’t understand her but then her speech started to come back bit by bit. That period was really scary. I didn’t sleep when my daughter was ill. I had to take sleeping pills the night before a game.
“She’s developed some allergies, which we have to be careful of, and she’s got a hole in her heart which we have to get checked every couple of years, but they don’t see any issues with that. She still has some speech therapy at school. Other than that, she’s healthy and happy. She bounces into school every day. She’s so much fun, she’s five and the life and soul. It does put football into perspective.”
Garner was sacked in November 2020 after 33 games in charge. he later took charge of Swindon Town and led them to the League Two play-offs last season, losing out to fellow former Gas boss Darrell Clarke and Port Vale in the semi-finals on penalties.
Nonetheless, Garner had done enough to impress League One Charlton Athletic and he was named manager before the start of this season, but it was another short-lived tenure, being sacked after 29 games, and he opened up on the brutality of his dismissal by owner Thomas Sandgaard.
“Thomas was on a video call," he recalled. "He told me I no longer had a job and didn’t give me a reason. The call took 30 seconds. Martin didn’t say anything.
“I just wished (the players) the best. The majority were shocked. They were more shocked than I was. I’d sensed for a couple of months there was a reluctance to enter into any conversations about the January window.
“The owner put a lot of money in previous to me coming in and obviously wanted to curb that and become more sustainable. He’s a character. He liked the publicity and the limelight but then it became more apparent that it was costing him a lot of money and he wasn’t getting too much (back).
“(I was) the fifth manager since this ownership took over in two years. You’ll get lifts, little peaks but then things revert. The club needs cultural change. Hopefully, they will get that now. The club needs some stability.”
Garner – who still lives in the Bristol area – has since returned to management with League Two Colchester United, yet to win a game since taking over on March 2, but his side have secured back-to-back draws, sitting five points clear of the relegation zone.
“It’s good to be back on the grass,” he said. “This came out of the blue a little bit. That was the attraction for me, I want to try and build something and have a longer spell at the club. The key thing for me was the owner (Robbie Cowling), the direction he wants to go.
“He’s brought in Dmitri Halajko as the sporting director who’s very ambitious and wants to drive things forward, the same with me. There’s such a good platform here, lovely training ground, good stadium. It’s now a case of the areas that are key to performance, for example, the playing surfaces here at the training ground need some investment, some improvement that are going to help us play the way we want.
"I’m heavily possession-based. The players are a really good group to work with, really enthusiastic, really good character and attitude.”
SIGN UP: To receive our free Rovers newsletter, bringing you the latest from the Mem
READ NEXT:
