DAVE Burgess stood before his players to give the pre-match pep talk for the opening game of the season, wondering whether he would be able to gain the players' respect.

Seven months later, the side are third in NWCL Division One and in the semi-finals of the FA Vase.

Burgess has the players' respect.

There was widespread criticism last summer when the little-known Burgess, who had successfully run the Clitheroe reserve team for 10 years, was made first team manager.

Clitheroe are a non-League club steeped in 124 years of history -- with expectations to match.

Fellow North West Counties League managers scoffed at the announcement, saying Burgess had no chance.

He proved them wrong. The side won eight of their first 10 games to go top of the league.

"I was disappointed in what one or two managers said behind my back when I first took over," says the 39-year-old, who is Clitheroe born and bred.

"They didn't say it to my face but players from other clubs have moved here and what their previous managers had said filtered down.

"A certain manager of a team not so far from here even gave some advice about us to Wimborne before our FA Vase game against them earlier in the season. I was annoyed about that, to say the least."

Not only did Burgess have to contend with others' lack of confidence in his ability, he had to tackle his own self-doubts.

"Before the first game of the season I was really nervous and I thought 'have I got the respect of the players?'.

"I was asking them to do things I had never been able to do. I never played at this level -- the highest I ever got was being an unused sub for Clitheroe first team, in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup.

"I thought the players could just turn around to me and say 'why should I trust what you are saying when you have never done it yourself?'"

But the players didn't do that.

They listened, did what they'd been asked to do and beat Leek 4-1.

The Blues are the success story of the non-League season but Burgess has never let it go to his head.

He has often pleaded with this newspaper not to go overboard on his achievements. 'I am still learning,' he would say. 'Don't make me out to be an arrogant know-all.'

Burgess is passionate about Clitheroe Football Club but is careful not to let his family life suffer too much.

So the two aspects of his life often have to mix.

"When I got divorced five years ago my daughter Nicole started coming with me to every reserve game. She used to just sit in the dug-out, colouring in.

"I re-married last June and we now have Jack, who is one, and Anne's son Ashley, who is nearly six."

How does she cope with the 'mistress', I ask.

"She is very tolerant," he says, smiling. "Especially at this time of the season"

The football career of Dave Burgess ended almost as soon as it had started.

After being on schoolboy forms with both Leeds United and Blackburn Rovers, he was taken on as an apprentice at Ewood Park.

A lifelong Rovers fan, he was devastated when he was released just five months later.

"I didn't know what to do," he says. "I went on the dole for the only time in my life. I was on the dole for three months."

He then started work as a printer at Borough Printing (now Jenny Press) and has spent the last 12 years at Rectella International in the town.

As a sales practice manager he has learned many skills he finds useful in his 'other' job.

"I sell lampshades to football clubs, the ones they sell in the club shops," he says.

"Dealing with different people from all over the country has helped with the man-management skills, which I think is the one of the most important attributes to have as a football manager.

"I have to gain someone's trust. They have to trust me and the company before I can sell them anything so these skills help with the football too."

Burgess, who was a keen sidecar racer in his younger days, started his football management career with the reserves of local amateur side Waddington.

"I got into it by mistake, when I was about 27," he recalls. "I'd injured my knee racing motorbikes. They needed a reserve team manager, so I said I'd do it.

"I started playing again when I was fit but by then I was bitten."

He was taken on as Clitheroe's reserve team manager in 1990.

"I never thought I'd get the chance to be first team manager because I didn't have the experience.

"The manager of Clitheroe would normally run a smaller club first, somewhere where the expectation was a bit lower.

"I was surprised at how difficult it was. It has been harder than I thought it would be.

"Running the reserve team, you just get the leftovers and make the best of it. But being the first team manager, you have so much to think about.

"You have to manage the whole club, from choosing the team to deciding what time the coach should set off for away games.

"But no one should underestimate the input of Lee Sculpher (the assistant manager). Without him I don't think we would be quite the team we are."

There were a few pulled faces when Burgess told his players of the travel arrangements for today's game in Somerset. "I told them we'd be going on the Friday and coming back Saturday night. A few of them weren't very pleased, because they like to have a Saturday night out.

"But as far as I was concerned we were going down there to play football. We could have travelled Saturday and come back Sunday -- like we did for the Wimborne game -- but I don't think that would have been the best preparation."

It has been a fairytale season for Burgess, who says the year has been 'like a dream'.

"We are still in with a chance in the league, we are in the Vase semi, I am living my dream.

"But I would like to take Clitheroe to the first round proper of the FA Cup and the UniBond League.

"We have never been that high. In fact, we have never finished higher than second and the furthest we have gone in the FA Vase is the final in 1996, so at the moment we are probably the second most successful Clitheroe team behind the 1996 side.

"But we could become the most successful team."

Even though it is clear Dave Burgess will never get carried away with his own success -- "next season we could lose the first 10 games" -- the question of respect has been well and truly answered. DON'T MISS MONDAY'S LANCASHIRE EVING TELEGRAPH FOR A FULL REPORT AND PICTURES FROM CLITHEROE'S SEMI-FINAL CLASH