Former Fulham scout and Druids chairman aims to help Brymbo FC rekindle a glorious past

One of North Wales’ most illustrious clubs hope its new director of football can inspire a return to glory days.

John Hughes is new head of football operations at Brymbo FC, whose current struggles in Tier 5 are in stark contrast to their many successes of previous years.

Hughes is a former chairman at Cefn Druids, who he led into the Europa League in 2018/19. He was also a scout at Premier League Fulham for 14 years.

The appointment of Hughes is a strong signal of intent for Brymbo FC moving forward.

Founded in 1943 as Brymbo Steelworks, the club won the Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Premier Division title 12 times, North East Wales FA Challenge Cup on five occasions and the Welsh Amateur Cup in 1967 before joining the Cymru Alliance League as Brymbo FC in 1991-92.

Mergers with New Broughton (1996-2005) and Summerhill United (2005-06) followed before the club reverted to the name Brymbo FC in 2006-07.

The Steelmen lifted the Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Premier Division title twice more in 2006-07 and 2007-08, also landing the FAW Trophy in the former season.

They remained in the Premier before being relegated in 2016-17. but came straight back up as Division One champions in 2017-18.

Two more seasons in the WNL Premier saw Brymbo finish third and sixth, then after 2020-21 was wiped out by Covid-19, the Wrexham area club took their place in the new Tier 3 Ardal North West league.

Unfortunately, they were relegated and dropped into the North East Wales League Premier, where they finished bottom in 2022-23 without a single win.

The club has been at a low ebb, currently sitting third bottom of the Tier 5 NEWL Championship Division, but Brymbo are aiming to bounce back and the appointment of an experienced new football director is a step in the right direction, as well as the recent engagement of progressive manager Lee Pope.

Mr Hughes said: “I feel very privileged to be offered a role at Brymbo FC.The club is steeped in the history of Welsh football and I look forward to making a contribution that hopefully restores the club to former glories.

“I was very impressed with the new young committee; its vision for the future is realistic and achievable. I worked alongside Lee (Pope) the manager whilst at Druids and coupled with the tremendous facilities, there is no doubt in my mind that Brymbo can begin on an exciting pathway on a local and national scale.”

Club chairman ANDY DAVIES said: “We are extremely excited to welcome John to Brymbo FC. After our first meeting we discussed our vision for the club and the plans we have to put Brymbo back on the map in North Wales.

“Obviously with all John’s experience around local football he was aware of the history of the club and the past glories Brymbo have enjoyed.

“We outlined our vision for the club and we feel with John’s experience with working with Fulham and Cefn Druids that can only benefit us and point us in the right direction.

“Added to this the appointment of Lee Pope a few weeks ago, it shows real intent from the club to bring back some former glories to Brymbo FC.”

And JOSH BACHNER, vice chairman, said: “We are over the moon to welcome John into the club. He brings a wealth of experience from 14 years at Fulham to growing Cefn Druids and taking them to Europe.

“This is a huge signal of intent from the club to show where we want to get to and are committed to developing Brymbo into one of the big names in Welsh football again. We’ve laid out a long term plan that brings a sustainable operating model, showcasing local young talent.”