25 Facts About Andy Hessenthaler

Andrew Hessenthaler was born on 17 August 1965 and is an English football manager and former player who is head of recruitment at EFL League Two club Gillingham.

Andy Hessenthaler began his career in non-league football and did not turn professional until he joined Watford at the age of 26.

In 1996, Andy Hessenthaler joined Gillingham and spent the next ten years at the club as player and later player-manager, managing the club to its highest ever finish in the English football league system and becoming regarded as a legend of the Kent club.

Andy Hessenthaler returned to the club as assistant manager in 2014, before taking on a similar role at Leyton Orient the following year.

Andy Hessenthaler later joined Fawkham-based amateur team Corinthian, but Charlton Athletic took him on in 1983 on a non-contract trial basis.

Andy Hessenthaler failed to secure a contract with the club and returned to playing on a part-time basis while working as a builder.

Andy Hessenthaler spent four years at the club, during which time Dartford reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy on two occasions and finished twice as runners-up in the Southern League.

Andy Hessenthaler opted to make the move even though becoming a full-time professional player would mean taking a drop in earnings compared to what he was making combining semi-professional football with building work.

Andy Hessenthaler was one of the club veterans selected to represent Watford in the 2006 London Masters football event, where he was named "Player of the Tournament".

Andy Hessenthaler quickly became a key player at Priestfield Stadium.

Shortly afterwards, Gillingham manager Tony Pulis, who had signed Andy Hessenthaler, was dismissed from his post.

Andy Hessenthaler was replaced by Peter Taylor, who appointed Hessenthaler as player-coach.

Immediately after guiding Gillingham to promotion, Peter Taylor left to manage Leicester City, and Andy Hessenthaler was appointed player-manager.

Andy Hessenthaler remained at the club as a player but was rarely selected for the team, and in January 2005, he went on loan to Hull City, where he was reunited with Peter Taylor.

Andy Hessenthaler made ten appearances for Hull, who gained promotion to the Football League Championship, while Gillingham were relegated from the same division.

Andy Hessenthaler rounded out his Gillingham career by returning to Priestfield Stadium for a testimonial match in July 2006.

Andy Hessenthaler is widely regarded as a club legend by Gillingham fans, who in 2005 voted him the team's best ever player in a local radio poll, and he was named Gillingham's greatest ever player by the Professional Footballers' Association in November 2007.

On 19 January 2006, Andy Hessenthaler signed for League Two strugglers Barnet on a short-term contract until the end of the season.

Shortly after his departure from Barnet, Andy Hessenthaler was appointed manager of Dover Athletic of the Isthmian League First Division South.

On 20 May 2010, Andy Hessenthaler resigned as Dover manager, and the following day, he became the manager of Gillingham, who had just been relegated to Football League Two, for the second time.

Andy Hessenthaler left the position of director of football at Gillingham in 2013 with a view to returning to management.

Andy Hessenthaler's mother died in 1991, shortly before his first professional match.

Andy Hessenthaler's father was an aspiring footballer and was at one time on the books of Arsenal, but never played professionally.

Andy Hessenthaler is married to Nikki and has a daughter, Jasmine, and a son, Jake, who became a professional footballer, making his debut for Gillingham in December 2013.

Andy Hessenthaler's third spell in management at Gillingham was as part of a team of four joint caretaker managers, along with Steve Lovell, Darren Hare, and Mark Patterson.