Robbie Savage opens up on fear of failure in National League North

Robbie Savage. Picture: Jonesy702/Wikimedia

Robbie Savage’s remarkable rise — and abrupt exit — as Macclesfield manager has been laid bare in a new behind-the-scenes documentary released by BBC Sport.

The former Wales midfielder guided the Silkmen to the National League North with six games to spare last season but abruptly left as he feared failure.

As BBC Sport reports, they were the first team across the top seven tiers to secure promotion and the first since 2017 to smash through the 100-point mark in the Northern Premier League.

But just weeks before the 2025–26 campaign kicked off, Savage stunned the club he helped rebuild by leaving to take charge at Forest Green Rovers. BBC Sport’s Robbie Savage: Managing Macclesfield charts every twist of a spell that began with the club’s rebirth in 2020 and ended with a move that left owner — and close friend — Robert Smethurst visibly shaken.

The documentary reveals how the pair rebuilt Macclesfield “from nothing” after the original club’s collapse, dragging the stadium, squad and infrastructure back from the brink. Their progress was relentless: promotions, momentum and a squad who, as BBC Sport highlights, said Savage “cares a lot” and “understands us”.

Promotion sparked emotional celebrations and a dressing room belting out Adele — but the mood shifted fast when Savage was appointed head coach at National League Forest Green. Smethurst admits in the programme that losing him was “like losing my left arm”.

The film also digs into the toll of abuse Savage faced in non-league dugouts, his struggle with pressure, and the deep personal bond between the two men. Savage added the club “mentally helped save me”, while Smethurst credits the project with helping rebuild his own life.

Savage said he didn't realise the backlash would be as great as it was, adding: "It makes me sad.

"Every time I drive past I want to pop in. That hurts because it was our club. We built it from nothing.

"I could have kept that job for five years with you because we were together. I feared failure for the first time in my life. The stress was too big, I felt so much responsibility and it took over my life. Here I can just concentrate on being a football manager."

Macclesfield have since regrouped under John Rooney — but Savage’s imprint, as BBC Sport puts it, “will always be part of” the club he helped resurrect.