Saunders still in Macc frame
MAIDSTONE manager Jay Saunders remains the favourite to succeed John Askey as manager of Macclesfield Town – despite the club’s chief executive insisting he’s going nowhere!
Bill Williams, reacting to rumours that Saunders was in the frame for the Moss Rose, said the manager would be remaining at the Gallagher Stadium.
“There has been rumour and speculation over the future of our manager Jay Saunders,” said Williams.
“To put an end to that, I can confirm that Jay is committed to Maidstone United and will be continuing the role he’s had with the club since 2011.
“We are all looking forward to what is going to be a very exciting season.
“Jay, along with his management team of Steve Watt and Harrison Grant, are busy preparing their preseason programme and looking to add players to the existing squad.”
However, Saunders remains the hot favourite with bookies, ahead of Keith Curle and Richie Wellens, who was sacked by Oldham last week.
Meanwhile, Scott Wilson has said he is looking forward to working with whoever the next manager will be – after signing a new deal that keeps him at the club until 2020.
Wilson was a key part of the Silkmen side that won the National League title and earned promotion back to the Football League, and he has now committed his future to the club after signing a new two-year deal.
Wilson remains at Macc despite there being no manager at the moment, following John Askey’s departure to become the new boss at Shrewsbury.
While there may be nobody for the role yet, Wilson is excited to play for whoever it will be, and is confident they will share his ambition.
“I’m looking forward to working with whoever comes in. Whoever it is will be ambitious like the squad we have at the moment and I’m sure we can go on and do good things next year,” he told the club’s official website.
“I’m pleased to finally get the new deal done. It’s been quite a long summer but now it’s all done and dusted so I’m happy and looking forward to next season.
“Obviously we finished at the end of April, so I’ve had a good month to sign and I’m glad it’s all done now and I’m looking forward to pre-season.
“Since I’ve been a youth team player, it’s always been a goal for me to get back into the Football League and now it’s happened here at Macclesfield and I’m delighted.
“The togetherness we had last season as a squad was the main reason I signed. The players that are already signed up are great players who are all ambitious and all the players we bring in will be ambitious too and we’ll all be looking to kick on again next year.”
Wilson was Macclesfield’s top scorer during the latest campaign, and he hopes to have a similar impact next season.
“I always set an aim for myself each season, and my name is to be that top scorer each season and I always have a target of goals I want to score, so I have that in mind and hopefully I can achieve that next season,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to all the games, going into the league we may be underestimated a little bit, but I think we’ll be able to show teams what we’re all about.”