Hill climbs to his highest point so far but is intent on further progress

RUBBING shoulders with Sam Allardyce next season will be nothing new for Barnsley manager Keith Hill.

They might not have mixed it before on the touchline but the pair are good friends away from football.

Both live in Bolton and now have an even greater reason to stay in touch.

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For they have found new jobs virtually at the same time, in the same division, albeit at different ends of the Championship spectrum.

For Hill, who has quit Rochdale to move east across the Pennines, the new challenge is keeping Barnsley out of trouble. For Allardyce, out of work since being cruelly dumped five months ago by Blackburn Rovers, the job of steering southern West Ham United back to the Premier League.

Rivals, yes, but equals? Maybe not. Mind you, the underdog cannot wait to get his teeth into the leaders of the pack.

“It will be a massive challenge trying to compete against the likes of Birmingham City, West Ham and Leeds next season,” says Hill, who has stepped into the void created by Mark Robins’s exit.

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“We are the underdogs but that will suit me. We are 100-1 to win the Championship with the bookmakers but we have a fighting chance and will take on the fight.

“When you see the teams that have been relegated from the Championship over the last five years, survival will have to be regarded as a success,” he stresses. “But you have still got to be ambitious and we won’t just aim for that. The ambition is to keep on improving.”

Not so long ago, Hill was the surprise appointment as manager at a club where ambition stretched no further than staying out of the Conference.

His success in dragging Rochdale out of the front door of League Two, however, has propelled him into the consciousness of Championship chairmen. His assistant, David Flitcroft, is equally well regarded.

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Next season, Hill and Flitcroft – dubbed ‘Hillcroft’ by their admirers – have an opportunity to ruffle feathers like never before, Locking horns with Allardyce will also have added significance.

“The prospect of managing against Sam next season is exciting,” he said. “We all live in Bolton. We know each other from our playing days. Dave and Sam were together as players at Preston and we all have a great relationship.

“As soon as we knew Sam had got the West Ham job, it was like the old school brigade taking on the new school.

“It will be great when we play each other next season. We have even talked about the type of wine he will like. Myself and ‘Flicker’ are beer drinkers but Sam is into more mature drinks.

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“He probably gets bad publicity for the style of football he plays. Which is untoward in my opinion. But what he has done in bringing sports science and backroom staff into the 20th century has made a massive impact on football. Not just in the Premier League, but all the way down the leagues. I have a collaboration of mentors but Sam has been integral in my development.”

Hill, 42, strode into his unveiling at Oakwell yesterday chewing gum and keen to stress his individuality.

It will be interesting to see how his character develops in the Championship spotlight and whether he might even rival Blackpool’s Ian Holloway in the charm stakes.

“People say I should be more guarded but I am who I am,” he says.

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“I don’t want to be a fraud. I am an original. I don’t want to be a mini version of someone else. Ownership of myself is important to me. I won’t be everyone’s cup of tea and, if we are not winning games, I know I am going to get flak.

“But I will have an open relationship with the fans because that has worked for me in the past. The lines of communication have to be open and I am a good communicator. Relationship building is important. It is far too easy to send an email or a text message rather than speak to someone face to face.

“Personally, I think that is missing, not just from football, but from society in general. It is easy to send a message without face-to-face activity. I believe in that, from an old school perspective.”

Hill, who started his career as a defender with Blackburn, is, by his own admission, still a relative stranger to second tier football.

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However, he oozes confidence and appears determined to make the most of his opportunity.

“I am excited but apprehensive,” he says. “I am a creature of habit and I am used to comfortable surroundings. So this is different but I am really looking forward to putting our identity on the football and the massive challenge of managing in the Championship.

“We have no Championship experience but we do have experience of building a successful team over four-and-a-half years.

“We also have valuable experience in wheeling and dealing, managing our resources, and over-achieving. This might be very similar. The supporters at Rochdale enjoyed the football we brought to the local town.

“And it can be repeated.”