Friday, November 27th 2025. Steve Cleal has just been appointed as the new manager of Cinderford Town AFC. A familiar face, as he was gaffer at the Causeway Ground from 2020 to 2022.
Despite those two years in charge, however, Cleal only ended up taking charge of the Foresters 24 times. COVID-19 was no doubt the primary reason, but his short-lived stay was positive enough for chairwoman Sara Woolams to rehire the Cheltenham-born and raised manager after his departure from Malvern Town.
His time at Malvern was a success; he co-managed the Hillsiders to promotion to step four in the 2022/23 alongside Lee Hooper.
One player key to Malvern’s success under the Cleal-Hooper partnership was Jack Watts, who was brought to the club with the 22/23 play-offs in mind and stayed until September 2024.
It wasn’t the first time he’d played under Cleal, however.
“Jack’s a leader; he’s played for me at Baros, he’s played for me at Malvern, he’s played for me at Cinderford”, the current manager of the latter started.
“He’s a player that has played in quite a few of those 650 games, but he’s also now my skipper at Cinderford. He understands my philosophy better than anyone, so he can relay that on the pitch.
“I guess the thing that doesn’t change is that I’m very much a man for the players. It’s not me that does it all; they have to buy into the way I want to try and do things, but ultimately, they’re the ones that execute it.
“I let players feel freedom. I’m not a manager who rants and raves at them for no reason. They’re allowed to express themselves, especially the more creative ones, as long as they’re prepared to work hard, and I think when you instil that philosophy in players, they want to come and play for you.”
After Cleal’s time at Malvern was over, a few months off followed before his return to Cinderford.
FULL TIME A 2-3 win on the road in Hereford sees us advance in the Wiseman Lighting Floodlit Cup đ #TheForesters || #CTFC đ¤đ¤ https://t.co/QvPdpdcCYx
— Cinderford Town AFC (@Cinderford_Town) November 3, 2026
“My spells I’ve had away from football have been very quiet”, he said. “It’s not really something I’ve enjoyed that much.”
Talking about his first spell with the Foresters, the 48-year-old suggested that COVID wasn’t entirely a negative thing.
“I made the decision to leave Bishops Cleeve because Cinderford were in the league above and doing really well.
“I was kind of expecting to be taking over the group of players that were there, but as it turned out, I think there were only three of them left, so it was a bit of a rebuild.
“COVID kind of probably helped a little bit in the fact that it was a tough rebuild. I did need to try and go for a number of players and get people in the door, so it was a strange period for everyone, but it was even more strange for me to move to a new club and have to almost start afresh where I expected there to be a few more players.”
As mentioned there, Cleal was in charge of Bishops Cleeve before making the switch to Cinderford. At Cleeve, he was manager for their record-breaking clash with Hereford United, where the 1365 in attendance at Kayte Lane is still the club’s record showing.
Speaking about the game, Cleal offered, “That game certainly stands out because to see police horses in and around Kayte Lane and see a herd of Hereford fans walking down from the village was certainly a bizarre scene, one I’d never thought I’d ever see at the Lane. Yeah, that was a really proud moment.”
Despite not being the manager any more, with that handle passed onto Paul Collicutt, Cleal is still deeply connected to Bishops Cleeve FC.
“I’m helping run Cleeve Colts under-8s boys, helping run Cleeve Colts under-12s girls and running Cleve Colts under-15 boys, as well as Cinderford Town, as well as a full-time job, as well as being married. Yes, it’s a very busy schedule in our house, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
“Thankfully, my wife’s on board with it as well, because if she wasn’t, it’d be quite a tough gig.
“If you add the kids’ ones (to the 650), I’m up to 32,000, probably. It’s important to have the right balance and we do have the time where we do try and switch off from football, even if that’s only for one day a week.
“Obviously, when I’m at work, the work is the main focus, but it’s enjoyable and I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it.”
When asked if there was any chance the 650 milestone is an indicator of the beginning of the end, the answer was almost a resounding no.
“I’m not looking to hang up the manager or coach boots just yet, because there’s still a few things I want to tick off.”
