DAVE MYERSCOUGH is stepping down as coach of Wigan St Judes at the end of the season.
Myerscough, who will bow out after the Saints’ final game at Rochdale Mayfield in the National League Premier Division on Saturday, has enjoyed impressive success since being appointed five years ago.
Judes have, under his stewardship, risen from ninth in the old National Conference League Second Division in 2022 to the flagship competition’s top flight.
A fifth-placed finish in 2023 was followed by the Division Two title in 2024 and, in 2025, the Division One championship.
Judes have consolidated in the Premier Division of the National League (which controversially replaced the National Conference League this year) and will close in eighth spot.
The club posted on Facebook: “It’s fair to say Myers will be leaving it in a very different place to where he found it.
“Taking over a Division Two side to leading St Judes into the NCL Premier Division is some achievement, but probably the biggest thing Myers has done isn’t something you’ll see on a league table.
“He changed the culture around our whole open-age section. He raised the standards and expectations of what our first team should be, but importantly, he also helped bring the whole senior section together.
“The old idea of having a first team and a second team changed. The second team became our North West Men’s League team with its own identity and something for the lads involved to be proud of, while at the same time creating a clear pathway into the NCL squad.
“That pathway stretched down into our under 18s too. Lads could progress into the NWML squad and, when the opportunity was there, straight into the NCL team.
“Myers helped change the mindset around the senior section into one playing group, with players competing for selection across the squads, rather than simply being a first team and a second team.
“He connected the whole thing up, and the progress of the NWML team speaks for itself too. What was once simply viewed as the second team is now a team with its own identity, its own ambitions and something the club is equally proud of, now competing in the NWML Premier Division.”
The statement continued: “Through all this, the players have always been at the heart of everything he’s done. He’s fought their corner and pushed us as a club to make sure they got the best we could give them. He genuinely cares about the lads he coaches, and anyone who has played under him will know that.
“His man-management has without doubt been one of his biggest strengths. He knows when a player needs an arm around them, when they need a kick up the backside and, most importantly, how to get the best out of different people.
“That relationship with his players has been a massive part of his success. Yes, he’s won trophies and promotions, but what he’s built goes a lot deeper than that.
“He’s helped create a senior section where lads want to play for St Judes, where our young players can see a pathway ahead of them, and where our open-age teams are pulling in the same direction.
“Myers is St Judes through and through. He joined the club at 22 and played open age for more than twelve years. He started his coaching journey with our under twelves in 2013, took those lads through the age groups and then moved into the open-age set-up before eventually taking the top job.
“When you actually sit back and look at it, he’s given half his life to St Judes.”