TOILING TERRAS OUT OF STOCK!

WEYMOUTH will aim to appoint a new manager this week ahead of a crucial period in the season – but their decision will be dictated by tight finances.

The National League strugglers axed boss Brian Stock after seven consecutive league defeats which leaves them four points adrift of safety.

The ex-Wales international kept Weymouth out of the bottom four last season in their long-awaited return to NonLeague’s top-flight.

But after being unable to build on a promising start this term the club decided to make a change before it became too late.

“I’m disappointed for Brian,” Weymouth chairman Ian White told The NLP. “We stuck by him as much as we possibly could. We really don’t want to lose our National League status.

“We worked as hard as we possibly could to give him the tools to do it but after a run of seven defeats we had to make a decision.

“We’ve still got 23 games to play. It won’t be easy – our next four league games are Boreham Wood away, Dagenham, Aldershot and Yeovil away.

Budget

“If we’d had got to the end of January and nothing had happened maybe it would have been too late then.”

Stock, right, was handed his first managerial role in September 2020 after Weymouth had earned back-to-back promotions under Mark Molesley, who left for Southend United in League Two.

The 40-year-old had limited experience in the dugout, only working as an academy coach at AFC Bournemouth, but so too had Molesley.

“People will say, ‘Was it the right appointment?’ but look what happened to us with Mark Molesley,” said White. “It was a similar type of appointment and Mark did an incredible job.

“Brian came into a really difficult job, the National League is not what is was the last time we were in it 11 years ago, it’s a monster.

“Finding somebody with experience of the National League is not easy. When

Mark Molesley left, of the applicants that came in none of them had National League experience as a manager. Sometimes it’s luck.”

Weymouth want a new manager in place for their trip to Boreham Wood on Saturday which is followed by four games in eight days although they are working with a limited budget. “It’s vitally important we have somebody in place if we can do it by then,” said White. “We’re getting some interesting applicants but it will fit around money, that will be the issue. We’re living within our means, we have no debt.

“The first question to ask is what is the minimum [money] you would expect. We know what our maximum is and if your minimum is higher than our maximum then it’s not worth sitting here.” Director of football Paul Maitland took charge of yesterday’s FA Trophy tie at Dartford.