Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Drury quits for Kent rivals
Andy Drury says the opportunity to manage a higherleague club was too good to turn down - after leaving Whitstable to join Margate on Monday.
Drury was appointed as Jay Saunders’ successor at Isthmian Premier Margate, just hours after Saunders had been appointed as the new boss of National League South Tonbridge on Monday.
Saunders had been in charge at Hartsdown Park since 2019 and Drury revealed he previously held talks about taking the
Gate hot-seat prior to Saunders’ appointment at that time.
But fast forward three years and Drury has left Whitstable following their relegation from Isthmian South East to link up with Margate.
The 38-year-old revealed: “I had discussions with them before Jay took the job a couple of years ago.
“Hopefully they were suitably impressed by me back then. Yes, I was surprised [to get the Gate job] but it’s a nice surprise and I believe in myself as a manager.
“Hopefully, over the next six weeks, I can build a decent team and we can have a successful season.”
When asked if it had been a tough call to leave Whitstable as they return to the Southern Counties East Premier for the 2022/23 campaign, Drury replied: “In some ways, yes, in some ways, no.
“It’s an opportunity to manage two leagues higher.
“Whitstable is a lovely club but it was just an opportunity I couldn’t turn down to manage a club like Margate.”
He said he had learnt a lot in his spell at the Belmont.
“I learnt quite a bit in that spell,” he admitted.
“I learnt what you need to do to be successful - and what not todo!
“It was a good opportunity for me to go in there and try and save them from relegation. We came up just short but it was a learning curve and that’s part of life, really.”
Drury, who is no stranger to Step 3 football having last term been Cray Wanderers playerassistant manager and played for Folkestone, explained just how quickly things had moved as Saunders left Margate and he was appointed.
He commented: “I got the call on Monday and it was all sorted pretty quickly. I’m really delighted to be Margate manager now.
“Obviously, Jay got the Tonbridge job and then I got the phone call that Margate wanted to speak to me. We had a chat and it was pretty much agreed there and then, and all announced by around 10pm.”