After applying for a few vacancies I found myself being offered an interview at Eastbourne United and Haverhill Borough. Having worked and studied in Sussex before and coached Eastbourne Borough, I was tempted to take the United job. But, I decided to take up the option of managing a team from my very own town. Having gained back-to-back promotions from the Essex & Suffolk Borders league (Tier 12), newly named Haverhill Borough enter their first season in the Eastern Counties Division 1 (Tier 10). Haverhill Rovers are the strongest team in the town playing one division up, however I aim to establish Borough as the biggest team in the town.
With most of my current squad wanted by other clubs, I needed to ensure I had enough players to rotate through an enduring season. In came an abundance of young players with a few experienced heads in there too.
Funnel and Mantle are outstanding players for this level and I hope to hang onto them, but with a lot of bigger clubs interested this will prove very difficult. New signings Jatto and Cropper will bring a lot of experience to the club. Cropper, a target man with a reasonable goalscoring record from the Northern Prem, will lead the line whereas Jatto will lead from the back.
A great start to pre-season picking up wins vs higher division clubs.