Running a football club is no easy task, and Corinthian-Casuals can thank twin brothers Brian and Roger Phillips for ensuring everything runs smoothly week in, week out, writes Dan Barnes.

It is estimated that they have cycled more than 156,000 miles each over the past 30 years travelling from home to the ground in Surbiton.

And the pair were rewarded for their years of effort at the National Game Awards in association with SCL, celebrating the achievements of another special year of non-league football at Stamford Bridge this week.

This season saw the club reach their highest level in the professional era after securing promotion to the Bostik League Premier Division, but the twins remember when Casuals were at the very bottom – and it is this dedication that won them the SCL Unsung Hero award, presented by Lewis Field.

“We’ve been going to Casuals for 30 years, even since they took over the ground at Tolworth,” recalls Roger.

“What don’t we do on matchdays?! We even clean up the changing rooms afterwards.

“People don’t realise – even for a humble club like an Isthmian League club – how much work there is to do.

“We’re no different to hundreds of other people around the country working for their clubs.

“You don’t do this job because you want to win awards. You do it because you enjoy doing it and if we manage to keep Corinthian Casuals alive, so be it.”

“I used to go down to the ground when they were about three steps lower,” recalls Brian.

“At the time, they moved to a new ground and required people to help out and do a bit of the ground work.

“Myself and my brother did a bit, and we helped build the rest of the stands.

“Nowadays, my brother does the turnstiles and I do a lot of the money stuff.

“I mark the pitch still, I used to run the club shop and I’m also the ground manager.

“On Sunday, I do the food for the teams and the parents of the reserves and youth teams.

“In the last few years, we’re getting more people in to help out at the ground and things are looking a lot better than they were a few years ago.”

SCL are one of the UK’s leading independent providers of education through sport for 16-18 year-olds.

SCL deliver Academy programmes across football, rugby and cricket, in partnership with more than 70 professional, private and grassroots sports clubs, foundations and community trusts.

Find out more at www.wearescl.co.uk/education