Elliot Sandy appointed new manager of AFC Rushden & Diamonds

The 39-year-old joins the club from United Counties League side Northampton Sileby Rangers, where he came out of retirement to lace his boots up for one final time. 

Prior to this, he led Spalding United to Step 3 for the first-ever time as manager, after claiming the 2023/24 NPL Midlands Division title.

A former Brackley Town striker, Sandy will return to Hayden Road for a second time, after initially linking up with the club for a brief spell as a player in the 2015/16 season.

Joining him in the dugout as assistant manager is Jim Le Masurier, who was most recently assistant manager at Kettering Town, briefly taking over the reins of the club in November 2023 before departing just six months later.

On his new role, Elliot said: "I'm absolutely delighted. It was something that sort of came out of the blue and was a bit unexpected.

"But as soon as the opportunity came up and it was there to take, I jumped at the chance. 

"Rushden is such a big club, and I'm a local lad. Growing up playing for Northampton Town, playing against the Rushden & Diamonds of old over the years, I've always known how big the fanbase is, and it's always been incredible.

“I've been here as a player, so it's great to be back as a manager. 

"My main memories are just how passionate the fans were and are. I'm looking forward to putting a team out there with a passion and desire to show the fans what it means to play for Rushden & Diamonds.

“I think my time as a player has come to an end, but there's still a lot I can give to my players. In terms of the group that we've got now, it's quite a young squad, and I really feel that I can help develop those players even further, and that's something that I intend to do, and look forward to doing.”

AFC Rushden & Diamonds chairman Rob Usher said: "I'm absolutely delighted to welcome Elliot to the club as our new permanent first team manager.

"As a board, we decided to act swiftly and efficiently to bring in a manager that had experience of Step 4 football and an established network of player contacts, and Elliot excels in both of those categories, having been a part of the fabric of Northamptonshire Football for many years before moving into a first team management [role] that saw him win this league just two seasons ago. 

"Through conversations over the past couple of days, we were also impressed by his commitment to work with parts of the infrastructure of the club that we value, namely the continuation of the head of academy's continued involvement in the first team setup that brought us a realisation of our pathway so successfully last year.

“I have been impressed with Elliott's ambition to win and the ideas he has around building a structure to ensure this.”