Scott Rogers won his teams promotions scored a goal at Wembley, and is now player-manager an early surprise package of the FA Cup.
But there's little to separate the manager from the tradesmen who play under him at Willand Rovers.
Dressed in grout-spattered trousers, blue hoodie and a bobble hat, Rogers has had to take a break from his "day job" as a tiler to do our interview at the walking into the Huntsman Inn in the village of Ide, near Exeter, and there's little to indicate his history in football.
And we've barely sat down before he's admitting he was "probably a little bit off being good enough to make it as a pro" – unlike his father Peter, a former Exeter City player.
But Rogers is about as far away from being pretentious as you can imagine.
It's something I'd realised after speaking to Rogers a few days earlier to arrange the interview, when he'd been working on the house of Ide's best-known resident.
It was Marcus Mumford of the band Mumford and Sons, not that this meant much to Rogers.
"I don't really know too much about music these days so when they said Mumford and Sons I thought it was an estate agents," he had admitted, sheepishly.
"I got there and met him, and he said his wife was a Hollywood actress who'd been in The Great Gatsby," he said, referring to Carey Mulligan.
"So I thought 'they don't look much like estate agents'. When I got home and told my wife and she told me who they were I felt a bit silly."
The fact that Rogers was willing to tell me this straight away is a hint of just how amiable he is, the sort of happy-go-lucky that's instantly likeable.
Luck is something Rogers believes he has had a fair amount of during his footballing career, having burst on to the scene with a winner for Tiverton Town in the 1999 FA Vase final, in a team managed by his uncle Martyn.
It's a measure of his outlook that Rogers believes he's been lucky even though he's probably one of the country's best footballers not to have played in the Football League.
"I've had a good career in non-League football," he said.
"I think you always end up playing where you should do – I'm a big believer in that – and I've spent the majority of the time playing in the Conference with Newport and Forest Green Rovers. So probably I was just a little bit off being good enough to make it as a pro, which I would love to have been like my dad was, but I've got no regrets, I knew I gave it my best shot.
"We were full time at Newport and FGR, but never made it into the Football League.
"But it doesn't worry me, and I will remember myself as a half-decent non-League footballer.
"I'm quite lucky scoring a last-minute winner at Wembley when you're 18 – I don't think that happens unless you're a little bit lucky.
"I've gone on to be lucky a few times, getting promotion with Newport and Bath City, and then thoroughly enjoyed virtually every season I've played football."
Rogers still plays for Western League Willand but the move was about making the transition into football management.
This year's run in the FA Cup – Willand are playing Gosport in the final qualifying round next Saturday – shows that the formula is working.
And although Rogers is banned for next Saturday's FA Cup clash, he will be hoping to prove he can still offer something from the sidelines.
"We've played six games now, five rounds with one replay," he said.
"When you think about it, it's the equivalent of Exeter City getting to the final.
"We've had some good draws, but this is our final, realistically.
"If you look at the team we've got [Gosport] to progress would be an unbelievable achievement. But we will be giving it our best shot, as we feel like we've made the final now.
"I think the most important thing is that everyone at the club enjoys the day and the players savour every moment."
Willand are the lowest-ranked team to have made it to this stage of the FA Cup, which is something that has clearly caught the attention of the media already – me included.
"Next week we're going to train Tuesday and Thursday for the first time ever, and that's purely because we've got Westcountry TV, BBC Spotlight and Football Focus coming down," said Rogers.
"For the lads it will be a great experience and a little taste of what it's like for professionals
"Some of them are young enough that if they get a bit of a break they might have a chance [to turn pro] but for the majority of the team this isn't going to happen very often, so you've got to savour the moment."
At 35 years old, Rogers is still capable of playing at a higher level than the Western League, but joined Willand last year to be able to spend more time with his family.
"Originally I came back to Willand Rovers when my little girl was born and to spend time with my partner," he said. "At Newport I was training in the morning and tiling in the afternoon and it was getting a bit silly in the end.
"I used to phone my mates and they would be in the pub having a drink and I would have several hours travelling ahead of me.
"I thought I would go and play for a few seasons, with my mates.
"The good thing is that I've got the respect of the players, which is nice.
"When they're all pulling for you on the pitch it is a nice feeling and you do feel proud when you come off the pitch and everyone has given their all. Even though I'd like to think we've got 17 or 18 good mates at Willand, I think team spirit one of the reasons we've done well. At our level that's what you've got to build on."
A career in football management would certainly not be out of the question either, once Rogers' playing career has ended.
"With Martyn and my dad, football is a massive part of their life, and football is a massive part of my life.
"I don't know where I will end up but I will be involved in football until I'm 60 or 70 somewhere.
"My dad didn't go into management and Martyn did.
"I would like to manage as high as I can as I've got a good rapport with players and like to think I can get the best out of them.
"I would have to do my coaching badges which I can't at the moment because I'm still involved in playing. But I would like to do that one day.
"I just love being involved in football."
The family connection to football is not just something that has influenced Rogers' past, but continues to drive him on to further success.
It also leads him to admit that him and his relatives tend to hog the limelight at times.
"Again, I think we're a little bit lucky," he said.
"My dad played and scored against Newcastle in the fifth round of the FA Cup – and Martyn scored in the same game.
"I don't think they've both scored in the same game at any other time, but they did that night at St James' Park in front of 18,000.
"It seems that when the big games come around we seem to grab the limelight – I'm not going to argue with that.
"But my dad has played the biggest factor in my football career. Wherever I've gone and played he's come and watched and whether it's a little nod or a wink at the end of the game he will let me know if I've done alright.
"If I haven't played well, an hour after the game, he will ring me up and tell me.
"He goes to all the games when he can get there, and he's one of the reasons I still want to do well rather than just enjoying my football.
"I've still got that obsession to impress him, if that makes sense.
"I still see myself as a young lad playing football – even when he comes and watches Willand.
"When he's watching I still want to do well as I know I will get a bollocking off him if I don't!
"I still know he's watching and I don't want to let him down."
