'Tough day emotionally' as Brackley start life without Cowan

But the skipper, who took over as interim manager following the departure of boss Gavin Cowan to Shrewsbury Town last Thursday, was proud of the effort the Saints put in as they secured a 1-1 draw at Sutton United in the National League encounter.

Scott Pollock levelled things up on 20 minutes after Brackley had gone behind 11 minutes earlier, and that was how it stayed as the Saints claimed a creditable point on the road.

And Dean said: "It's a tough place to come.

"We spent 48 hours putting a lot of work in to try to deal with them.

"They're an athletic team, an expansive team so in terms of stopping them building out from the back, I thought we did that really well with the press we set up.

"The only negative I'd say is that we should have really taken advantage of those moments in the first half when we were in the ascendancy.

"They finished the first half stronger than us but for 15, 20 minutes I felt like we could have scored two or three.

"They were really good chances I felt we should have scored.

"We needed to really get across our man, be willing to get hurt and score but we didn't do that and then we're away from home so you've got to roll your sleeves up, dig in and I thought the boys did that.

"It's a tough day emotionally. It's very strange and weird so we tried to keep a bit of continuity to it with team selection.

"We tweaked a few things in the way we pressed them and I think we did okay, but there's loads still to improve on.

"They're a tough group and I enjoy being their captain and their interim manager.

"It's a pleasure to work them and I just told them there's mixed emotions because I'm proud of them but there's an element of frustration that we didn't win as well, but that's healthy frustration."

Influential centre-back Dean enjoyed a close working relationship with Cowan, who guided Brackley to the National League North title last season.

And Dean said: "It was a bit of a whirlwind 48 hours.

"The gaffer (Cowan) is someone very close to my heart and you don't have many connections in football like we have on a personal level so I want to start by thanking him and congratulating him.

"When he came into the club, he came to help me initially and part of that was a selfish reason because I wanted to integrate him into the club, knowing he'd be a perfect fit.

"When you look at the success and the growth of the club in his era, I think it was a shrewd appointment and I really hope he goes there and succeeds and kicks on in his career.

"I don't think I've ever met someone who has worked as hard and as tirelessly as him.

"You can learn a lot from people like him and to rub shoulders with him on a regular basis is very inspiring so I love him to bits.

"I'm really grateful for all the moments he's brought us, all the learning he's brought us but we've still got a job to do here."

Next up for Brackley is a home game against Solihull Moors on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

"Solihull are one of the in-form teams in the league," Dean said.

"Since we played, them they've really kicked on.

"They've got lots of good players, their in-season recruitment has been really good so that will be a challenge.

"The hard work will start and we're back at home. We're going to need our fans over this period as the club moves to the next steps.

"We're going to need the fans' energy, enthusiasm and hopefully that starts at home this week."