RCA target another long-term manager after exit of Swales
Sunderland RCA are hoping to make a long-term appointment as the search for Martin Swales’ successor gets underway.
Swales brought down the curtain on his seven-year reign on Tuesday after helping establish Sunderland RCA in the Northern League’s top tier.
The former Ryhope CW boss oversaw two top-five finishes and led the club to the FA Cup second qualifying round and the FA Vase fifth round for the first time in their history.
RCA have already taken several serious expressions of interest from managers looking to succeed Swales – but committee member Colin Wilson believes that the club will hope to appoint a manager to bring longevity to the role.
Wilson told The Echo: “Martin is a really good manager and he got players to play for him, that’s one of the biggest things you can have as a manager at Northern League level.
“He created a solid core to the team and had a consistency to his squad over his time at the club.
“I think we are well respected in Division One, we haven’t got a budget that some other clubs do, so we punch above our weight really.
“We have to have a manager that can cope with that and get the most out of players as Martin did.
“When a new manager
comes in, they will bring in new ideas and that can be a positive.”
He added: “In my time we have had two long-serving managers with Martin and Neil Hixon so we would ideally
like someone to have a similar amount of time to work with us.”
Swales’ departure from the club has given RCA just under three months to fill their managerial vacancy ahead of the new Northern League season.
However, the club would like to allow their new manager to “hit the ground running” when the competitive action returns.
“Ideally we want someone in pretty quickly, although we do have some time,” explained Wilson.
“The new season will be here quicker than we think, but we won’t panic, it would be different if it was a midseason appointment.
“We really want to give them a chance to hit the ground running when the players return for pre-season.”