Kentish Express Ashford & District
Duo’s formula for success
Ashford’s interim management team are forming a clear picture of what’s required to take the club forward.
Alan Walker and Darren Hare were brought in to assess the squad and report back to the prospective new owners.
The Isthmian South East club is set to change hands this summer with chairman Don Crosbie expecting the deal to be concluded by May 31.
Hare is working as assistant manager under Walker, whose remit also includes interviewing managerial candidates for next season.
The pair are formulating plans to help the new owners hit the ground running.
“We’ve been quite pleased with what we’ve seen, despite the fact we’ve lost games,” said Hare, a former academy manager at Gillingham. “There’s been lots of positives and we’re starting to get a good picture of what we can suggest for the new management team and the new owners moving forward.
“We feel a lot more informed than we did four weeks ago.
“I guess that’s why they went for a couple of old farts like us because we’ve got that experience of working with players, knowing players and recruiting players.
“One of the main reasons they asked us to get involved was to have a good look at the set-up and put a plan together.
“I don’t think it’s an immediate success plan, it’s a sustainable plan for the future.
“We’ve been tasked with having a look at why the team has under-performed this season and where the gaps are.
“We’ve got two games left and then we can sit down and start talking about boys we feel the club need to try and keep hold of and take it from there. Obviously a big part of the job is to find out who is going to manage the team next season because Alan and I could make suggestions and then a new manager comes in and he - or she - might have different ideas.
“They need to be happy because if I was a manager coming in and I’m given a budget and all of a sudden, one, two, three, four, five players have already been offered new deals, I might be thinking they’re not my players.
“That’s something we’ve got to overcome.
“Alan’s been interviewing lots of different people.
“I’m not involved in that - I haven’t had the time - but he’s kept me abreast of who he’s speaking to and there’s some quality candidates.
“The future is bright for the club, there’s no question about that.
“There’ll be a period of transition and the fans need to appreciate that and be patient.
“Hopefully next season they’ll see a bright new platform upon which the club can build.
“The crowd will come back if they have a successful team to watch but everything else has to come along with it.
“It’s the ladies’ section, the youth section, the stuff they do in the community - all of those things make a football club, not just who runs out at 3pm on a Saturday.”
Walker and Hare have given youth a chance to shine since taking the reins from Kevin Watson last month.
They’ve been encouraged by the performances of youngsters whose transition to men’s football from the under-18s set-up could be made easier under measures being considered by the pair.
“There’s isn’t an under-21 side and that’s potentially something we might suggest to the club as a stepping stone because it’s a big jump from youth-team football to firstteam football at any level,” said Hare.
“I know that from when I was academy manager at Gillingham.
“Sometimes giving a youngster another year to play a hybrid men’s game at under-21 level can make all the difference.
“I think back to some of the players I worked with and I’m not convinced Bradley Dack would have been ready at 18.
“He needed another year and Jake Hessenthaler would be another one.
“Those boys went on to become first-team regulars but they needed extra time to develop in-house.
“Not everyone is ready physically for first-team football at 18 so if you’re looking at a development pathway, that might be something the club need to consider.
“We’ll put a blueprint together on the development side and give some recommendations on what they can do but everything’s there in terms of the infrastructure.
“They’ve got the new pitch and they’ve got great facilities upstairs for all sorts of things.
“The guy coming in knows his stuff and he’ll be aware of that.”
Ashford lost 3-1 at home to Chichester on Saturday, Robbie Rees with a consolation. They were also beaten on Tuesday at Horndean, Noah Carney’s early opener overturned in a 2-1 loss.
The Nuts & Bolts visit Lancing in their penultimate game of the season this Saturday (3pm).
▪ Kennington drew 1-1 at home to Hollands & Blair on Friday night. They host Punjab in Southern Counties East this Saturday before a trip to Welling Town on Tuesday.