I NEEDED TO GET BACK ON THE MARKET
MARK MORSLEY couldn’t resist the challenge of the manager’s job at AFC Sudbury – after admitting he’d made a mistake moving upstairs at Needham Market.
Morsley has made the short switch across Suffolk and returned to the Step 4 club he managed between 2006-08.
The former Leiston boss takes over from Jamie Godbold, who took the Yellows to promotion only to see them relegated in their first season at Step 3 and make a poor start to the new campaign.
Morsley guided Needham Market to the Ryman North title in 2015 and established them as a Bostik Premier club before choosing to step down at the end of last season and become chairman of Needham Market Ltd.
But he soon realised he still needed to scratch the management itch and when the Marketmen’s neighbours called, he couldn’t say no.
Morsley, who took Sudbury to two play-off finals in his first spell, told
The NLP: “It’s a place I know well and that was part of the attraction of taking the job on.
“I moved upstairs at Needham Market in the summer and it was a decision that was a mistake. I’ve been managing for 19 years and there were many right reasons for doing it, but it didn’t work out that way.
“I wasn’t actively looking for a job, but when I got a call from Danny Laws, who is the academy director at Sudbury and I worked with at Needham, had a chat and it’s developed from there.
“It was a big wrench. I made a lot of friends and had a really good five years at Needham. But my weakness is always a challenge. This is a challenge, without any shadow of a doubt. But they’re a fantastic club with fantastic potential. That’s something I’ve got to realise and take forward.”
Morsley believes he still has unfinished business at Sudbury and say it’s time they started creating more h istory.
“They’ve got great history,” he said. “The fact of the matter is, the new crop have got to start taking over from the team of 10-15 years ago. “The club is surrounded with pictures of success in previous years, we’ve got to make some more success – develop and make new history. The way that will happen will be having a lot of likeminded footballers playing for us.”