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The job is tough, it’s stressful, utterly exhausting … but I absolutely love what I do,” states Scott Davies, sitting in an vacant locker area awaiting his squad to arrive for training. Since 2022, Davies has served as the player-manager of the National League South side who, positioned third bottom of the standings, are the lowest-placed team remaining in this campaign’s FA Cup.

A Dual Role: Coaching and Education

A few squad members are stuck in traffic; training was moved forward to the evening to make way for a local team’s match. When the drills gets under way in torrential downpour, the non-league outfit are sharing the artificial pitch with a junior team. “I always thought I’d love to be a coach of a semi-professional team and work on the side,” notes Davies. The veteran has chosen not to participate, instead observing from the sidelines, with a coaching board positioned in front of him.

“We continually emphasize the importance that we’re not just managers: we’re life coaches, advisors, role models,” he says.

The day before, he is at a local school for his other job. During 45 minutes, he silences a classroom of sixth-formers with a harsh presentation on how a gambling addiction ruined his career as a professional footballer, put a strain on his relationships and took him to the brink of suicide.

A Career Derailed: The Descent

Following treatment 10 years ago, Davies has not placed a bet since and is now an educator on the risks of gambling. He details to pupils how, when he netted a set-piece against Chelsea’s Petr Cech in a summer match, he believed he had made it. But by then, at 21 years old, his gambling was out of control.

The skilled player, then playing the second tier, was slipping away of training at the first opportunity to visit the bookmakers, often making up excuses to leave. Upon being questioned by his manager to verify the story, Davies was unable to. He was not picked by his club again.

During a loan spell at another club, Davies thought he was headed to Leeds. When he saw they had signed someone else, he went to the bookmakers and lost £7,000 in a single day. Later on, at a different club, he started betting on his own matches and would sneak off into a restroom at half-time to place bets. Then, at Oxford United, he would stay up all night to place bets.

The Turning Point

By the age of 26, Davies’s career was in freefall. He dropped three divisions to play for a minor club. His first game was an road trip that passed his former club’s ground. “That was a moment of realisation,” Davies recalls. “I remember looking at the ground from the bus and thinking: ‘What has happened?’ I will always remember that moment.”

His coach from that time is now his number two at Slough and the pair have fostered an atmosphere where players can speak openly about anything, dismantling the walls of toxic masculinity that existed when Davies was a youth and was too scared to talk his problem.

The Perfect Customer: Why Young Footballers

Each person's story is unique, Davies argues prospective professionals are susceptible to becoming addicted. Financial means, idle hours, the competitive nature, and the perceived insider knowledge in sports betting were all factors in his downfall. “Combining all of those things together, you’ve pretty much got the dream client for a bookmaker.”

Ahead of Sunday’s cup match, Davies is addressing two elite teams’ academy sides. “I do feel like there is a duty of care to protect the next generation, aspiring players, and which is why I do the job that I do,” he says.

Looking Ahead and FA Cup Dreams

Currently content, married and the father to a young child, Davies is yet to retire and is aiming to start on his advanced coaching badge. “There’s a lot of regret but the positive aspect of recovering and moving on to management is that I aim to right the wrongs of my playing career.”

Slough have navigated four rounds but have not yet made the third round of the Cup. Given the financial rewards, facing a Premier League club in the next round could bring a financial boost in seven figures for a team whose roster includes tradesmen, personal trainers and teaching assistants.

The prospect of facing coaches such as Pep Guardiola is a curious one for Davies. “I don’t think we would use any tactics. It would be where you’d be happy to be defeated just for the experience.

“It’s incredible to see the non‑league teams that get paired with some of these powerhouses. Witnessing it and you think: ‘One day, can it be you?’”