There is a mixture of puzzlement and self-doubt as Kevin Nancekivell begins to talk ahead of the day when all eyes will be on Plymouth.
‘Are you sure this is going to be interesting?’ asks a man whose life has been devoted to this proud football club before he goes on to tell stories about advice from Paul Gascoigne, a pasty the size of a small submarine for Jurgen Klopp and the inspirational nature of the FA Cup.
Yes, this is interesting and all those topics come before the best of all — how four days after he had helped mastermind Plymouth’s passage into the fourth round with a shock 1-0 win at Brentford, Nancekivell was granted the Freedom of the City in recognition of his service at Home Park.
Only 46 people have received the award since 1917 and the last sportsman to accept it was Tom Daley, the history-making Olympic diver, in 2023. That Nancekivell wonders whether it is relevant to our discussion gives you an insight to his selflessness and humility.
‘Look,’ he begins. ‘It was an unbelievably proud moment for me and my family. It was tear-jerking to hear things that were said about me. I don’t know what it means I can do but I’d have been happy with a free pasty! It’s an incredible honour and I’m humbled by it all.’
The widespread delight for him, though, reflects his standing. Nancekivell is as green as the verdant Home Park turf — he was the boy at the 1984 FA Cup semi-final who became the player who realised his childhood dream who became the man who now provides guidance behind the scenes.
Kevin Nancekivell was honoured for his services to Plymouth by becoming a Freeman of the City
The 53-year-old led the Pilgrims to a famous FA Cup third-round win over Brentford last month
Nancekivell, 53, is assistant to Miron Muslic, the Austrian-Bosnian who replaced Wayne Rooney as manager last month, but stepped into the role as caretaker following the England legend’s dismissal for the game at Brentford.
Being in temporary charge is not something that came as a surprise — he’s done it plenty of times over the last decade, notably last season when he and former sporting director Neil Dewsnip kept Plymouth in the Championship on the final day — but the circumstances this time felt different.
There was a desperation for Rooney to do well. Nancekivell gave him a tour of Home Park on his first day, explaining all the key points in Plymouth’s history on a mural outside the first-team dressing room. When his departure was confirmed on December 31, there was an overwhelming feeling of despondency and a collective determination to correct things at Brentford. Morgan Whittaker’s goal enabled them to do that and provided Nancekivell with a moment he’ll never forget.
‘The last 12 months have been full of emotion and traumatic at times,’ says Nancekivell. ‘We had Steven Schumacher leave, Ian Foster come in and then go; Neil and I took things to the end of the season, then Wayne came in, and unfortunately he went, too.
‘This is my club, you know? It’s my family’s club and always has been. Everyone around here is so invested in Plymouth and I know what the Green Army are expecting each time the team go out because I am one of them. I carry that responsibility with me.
‘Some of our supporters live in Penzance — it takes two-and-a-half hours to get to Home Park. You see the fans leave at 3am to go to Sunderland for a match and not get back until the same time the next day. The emotional and financial investment is huge.
‘I live about 40 miles from Plymouth now, near Bude. It takes me 70 minutes to drive in and I’m on the phone all the time, seeing what’s going on with the academy teams and everything else. I have to live that far away because if I was in the city I’d go to work at 6am and still be there at 8pm.
‘So at Brentford, everything came tumbling out. I knew where my wife, Jo, and daughters, Holly and Lauren, were sitting and I could see them when I ran over to celebrate. What a day it was!’
Wayne Rooney was sacked as Plymouth boss in December with the club languishing at the bottom of the Championship
It was an explosion of joy, a fist-pumping affirmation of what this wonderful competition continues to be. Nancekivell’s lip quivered as the crowd sang his name to the tune of Simon and Garfunkel’s Mrs Robinson and you didn’t need any affinity to appreciate it all.
Not surprisingly, his phone blew up with messages but one notification from Rooney on social media saying ‘Delighted for this legend’ ensured he would be receiving correspondence for days.
‘I wouldn’t have a clue about social media,’ he chuckles. ‘But I was having a glass of wine, and one of the girls said, “Dad, have you seen what Wayne has put on Instagram?” It’s a measure of the kind of man he is. He still keeps in touch and messaged last week after we beat West Brom.’
Rooney, no doubt, will be watching on Sunday when Liverpool arrive. It won’t, of course, match the experience of 40 years ago, when Nancekivell was part of a battalion that headed to Villa Park for a semi-final against Watford but the joy of hearing him talk is infectious.
He was always football-mad and was an attacking midfielder for Bideford and Tiverton, for whom Nancekivell scored an FA Cup goal against Cardiff in 2001. But he played six games for Plymouth, scoring once against Hartlepool, and the story of how he got his opportunity is one for a book.
‘I was given a trial in the summer of 2000,’ he recalls. ‘Everton came down here. What a team they had. There was Mark Hughes, Davie Weir, Scot Gemmill and Paul Gascoigne. I remember their left back, Alessandro Pistone, and I charged him down to win us a throw-in.
‘He was dallying to get the ball, so I legged it past him, got the ball, threw it at him and ran back into the middle of the pitch. Next thing, Gazza gets hold of me. “Slow down, son!” he says. “You’re running around too much here!” I said to him. “I can’t stop — I’m trying to get a deal here.”
‘Gazza had to have the last word, “Don’t worry, son. You’ll be fine. You’ll get one”. What a thing to say! I ended up playing six games in the Third Division and nobody will ever take away the fact that I scored for me team.’
Rooney shared his congratulations after Nancekivell guided Plymouth into the FA Cup fourth round
Nancekivell recalled coming up against Paul Gascoigne, then of Everton, during his own playing days
Such is his passion for Plymouth, this racing enthusiast took the responsibility in the five-man syndicate he is part of to register the colours their horses, Adaay In Devon and Maid In Devon, wear — green-and-white, obviously — and they provide a distraction.
But Plymouth are never too far from his mind and he hopes there will be another fairytale on Sunday.
‘The last time Liverpool were here in 2017, Ginsters were our sponsors and they presented Jurgen Klopp with this enormous Cornish pasty,’ he smiles. ‘It was a wonderful night and though we got beat 1-0, it was everything the FA Cup should be.
‘We are playing maybe the best team in Europe but we’ll give them a game. There is a buzz about the city again. It’s wonderful be a part of.’
And you know this proud Devonian means every single word.
