TALK budgets to Jamie Vermiglio and he is more likely to think of new PE equipment rather than new players.

The Chorley boss combines his managerial role with headteacher duties; curriculum by day, coaching by night - and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

For Vermiglio, school assemblies and team talks go hand-in-hand.

“I’ve always made sure football does not impact on my job,” said the Magpies boss who is headteacher at Locking Stumps Community Primary School in Warrington. “I make a lot of phone calls but they are early in the morning on the drive in to work or late at night. Coaching sessions are all done in my time.”

Vermiglio regularly locks horns with household names in the National League - a former England manger in the opposition dug out one week, an ex-international player standing alongside him the next.

And he admits eyebrows are raised when it comes to talking about his day job.

“I’ve chatted with Neal Ardley at Notts County and John Sheridan at Chesterfield and we get on to talking about training plans and how our weeks pan out. When I tell them I am a headteacher they can’t believe it.

“We played Dagenham and Redbridge back in September and Peter Taylor was in their dugout. He’s a former England manager, so it is incredible to think how far we have come as a club.”

But Vermiglio has always stressed that Chorley are not in the division just to enjoy the adventure.

They may be bottom of the table but they showed last weekend - when they came away from Sheridan’s Chesterfield with a 3-2 victory - that they will battle all the way.

“The win was massive, a real confidence boost and it keeps us in touch with teams around us, not just those in the bottom four but those just outside it as well,” added Vermiglio.

“But we have to try and back it up now. It will be difficult, especially in the next two games against two very good teams. But the Chesterfield win is just what we needed. It was long overdue and, to be honest, I had forgotten what it was like to win a football match.

“In truth we have played better than we did and lost matches but it was nice to win the way we did.”

Following on from Chesterfield, the Magpies welcome play-off chasing Torquay United tomorrow - managed by experienced former Championship manager Gary Johnson before going to table-topping Barrow on Tuesday night.

“Chesterfield followed by Torquay, two big clubs with Football League pedigrees, “ said Vermiglio. “I remember the days when we would play Mossley on the weekend and go to Rossendale United in midweek. Again, it shows what we have achieved here.”

Vermiglio has been impressed and amazed at the standard of play and size of the budgets being thrown around in the division.

“The standard of football in this league is of the highest standard,” he said. “They talk of it as non-league but 99 per cent of these teams are full time and a lot have big budgets.

“It’s mad when you think about it, I was talking to one manager who had paid £200,000 for one of their strikers. That is the sort of money we can only dream about.”

Instead, Chorley have to rely on trying to bring in players on loan with Martin Smith (Salford) and Charles Vernam Grimsby - who scored twice in the Chesterfield victory - joining on temporary deals while Nortei Nortey arrived on a free transfer.

Despite all that and competing against bigger and more established clubs, Vermiglio is getting Chorley’s name out there - especially in the school playground.

“All the kids support either Liverpool, Manchester United or Chorley so I am doing my bit,” he said.

“The kids are great and are very interested.

“Last season we had a group of 50 children, parents and teachers to watch a game and when we won the play-off I took the trophy in so they could all hold it and have their photograph taken with it.

“Obviously this season it hasn’t been going too well so there hasn’t been that much playground chat about Chorley!”