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Wednesday, December 08, 2021

Former Hereford United Coach Remembers Piting His Wits Against Slaven Bilic

A former Hereford United coach has remembered the time he was up against Slaven Bilic.

Irfan Kawri, who was until recently head of recruitment at Bolton and is now with the FA's mentoring scheme, was head coach with Hereford United in the early days of when Tommy Agombar was chairman.

Kawri worked alongside manager Jon Taylor and right at the start of the season a friendly was arranged against Besiktas.

This from the Bolton News

Kawri previously served as first-team coach at Hereford United and recalled a memorable pre-season friendly against Turkish giants Besiktas.

In then-manager Jon Taylor’s absence, he was given the opportunity to take charge of the side and pit his wits against Slaven Bilic.

“I still remember the Besiktas game. Slaven was the manager,” he said.

“He came up to me after the game and said, ‘your lads look very fit, well coached and organised. They knew what they were doing’.

“That was very pleasing to hear. He also told me to never lose my passion on the touchline.” 

However that friendly wasn't played at Edgar Street. It took place somewhere near Leeds and it was later reported that Hereford lost 6-0.

Not only that but all the players were said to have been trialists.