Non-League and Academy football writer

Deano Elull has had a long association with very well known and established Hackney & Leyton Sunday Football League side Hackney Borough. I recently interviewed their manager about Hackney Borough, some of his memories of being involved with them, and some of his hopes for the club for the future. Thank you very much to Deano for taking the time to speak to me about Hackney Borough.

Could you talk me through a bit about the history of Hackney Borough?

Deano: The club originally started in 2008/2009. I wasn’t originally part of that, but I did play for them after the club was formed. The club was formed after a friend of everyone’s in Hackney, called Robert Levy, was sadly killed. His brother and other people in Hackney wanted to bring the club to light, and for people to play football. The club was originally in Division 4 of the Hackney & Leyton League, but it rose up to Division 3 and 2, and on to the Premier Division, winning every division until the Premier Division. I joined the club when they were in the Premier Division, and in my first and only season we won the Albert Daniels Cup. But, that was pre my management.

In terms of the current team/club, I got offered an opportunity by a team called Bartlett, to come and play for them. The manager at the time said to me that he was going to fold the club, and he asked me did I want to take over the club. I said to him that I was only going to take over under the premise that I was going to change the name back to the name that I wanted it to be, which was Hackney Borough. So that was how we started Hackney Borough back in 2018, and this season will be my ninth as manager.

In my time as manager we’ve won Division One, the Albert Daniels, the Dickie Davies Cup, but not the Jack Walpole Cup. As if you enter the London Cup, then that is the one cup that they take away from you. To be honest, it’s been really successful so far. I say this with confidence, we are everyone’s big game on the marshes. We are probably the only club on the marsh where 75% of our league when they play us, it is their derby. And I get it and I love it, because that’s what Sunday football is about. Not every team on the marsh is loud and has that effect. We’re all from Hackney, and we’re called Hackney Borough. And I think that there’s a bit of shadow over our name, because people don’t know what they’re going to expect when they play us. 

Most of the time other teams tell me that we’re a very good footballing side, who are very difficult to play against. But, to be honest with you, last season it didn’t go like that, and it wasn’t good. At least it wasn’t how I wanted it to be.

What have been some of your standout moments during your time as manager of Hackney Borough, so far?

Deano: To go from being a player at Hackney Borough to then taking a break, and then coming back and reforming the club. That is a massive standout moment for me. Number two would be to see my club as manager, win trophies. And when I look at that trophy I can see our name on it from when I played. That’s a full circle moment, if you’ve ever played Sunday football. I’ve been playing football on the marshes since I was 16, and I’ve won everything on the marshes. 

My third standout moment from being at Hackney Borough would be after stepping away from the club the season before last. I’d let two people run the club, and so for the first 12 games of that season I wasn’t there. Things weren’t really working though, and my assistant (Shane Hughes) along with the players had asked for me to come back. From the moment that I came back, I think that we lost one game out of 14, and we went on to win the Dickie Davies Cup 3-0 that season over Baddoo FC, at Rebridge Football Club. Baddoo are a massive football club on the marshes, so to beat them 3-0 in a final is something that was unheard of. 

To be a player and win a trophy is one thing, but as a manager I can’t do anything to impact the pitch or to win a game of football. It’s literally my word and giving the players full autonomy to be themselves, and to also remember that I can’t do anything to make them win a game of football, because they’ve got to do it for me.

How did you find last season (2025/26) with Hackney Borough in the Hackney & Leyton Sunday Football League?

Deano: If I’m being honest it wasn’t the season that we wanted. If you go through the history of the Hackney & Leyton League, I don’t think that there’s a club on the marsh right now, who has won more trophies than us. That’s from the beginning, including are break as a club. In terms of last season we had a very poor league campaign, where we finished third on the last day of the season. We lost the Super Cup to Boundary Estate, a team who we hadn’t lost to all season, and who I think we had a psychological edge over. They taught me a lesson in that final, and it’s not very often that I can say that. They played to the occasion, whereas I don’t think that my team played like it was a final.

We do so much preparation before games. The player don’t do the nets, the kits are handed out for them, and there’s oranges given to them at half-time. So for a cup final I was quite disappointed, and in turn of us losing in a final we’ve had a complete revamp of the team for season 2026/27. I call us the landlords of the marshes, because we live across the road and we’re all within a stones throw of the pitch. A lot has changed in the last eight years, and I’m on the ball with it, and I’m always prepared to make the changes needed to win.

What are some of your hopes for the 2026/27 season for Hackney Borough, in both league and cup competitions? Also, what are some of your personal hopes for Hackney Borough for the future?

Deano: The aims and ambitions for this season are to win the Hackney & Leyton Premier Division. That is the sole aim. We’ve finished second a couple of times since I’ve been manager, and that’s left a sour taste in my mouth. The team that has been built for this season is to win the league. In turn we’d always love to win a cup, and I feel like if you are in good form and doing well in the league, then when it comes to cup games then naturally you should take care of business. I think that in the last five seasons we have played in four finals. So, it’s more than likely that we’ll make a final again this season. But, the big aim this season is to win the league.

I would love for Hackney Borough to one day play in the FA Cup. The name Hackney Borough is absolutely humongous. It’s bigger than me and it’s bigger than everyone. We’ve brought some people back into the club for this season such as Marvin Birch, who will be joining Hackney Borough. I’ve also got a couple of players from other teams who are joining the club for this season.

What you’ve got to remember is that we’re the only real team from Hackney who are playing in the Hackney & Leyton League, and so we’re just trying to represent the Borough this season. But, the big aim would be to take the club into amateur football on Saturdays, and just work our way forward to something big. I’ve seen SE Dons do it, and I think that sometimes you don’t think it’s possible until you see that it is possible. I know that we have Hackney Wick FC in non-League, but Hackney Wick doesn’t represent Hackney, it represents Hackney Wick. Hackney Borough is a very, very different name.