Candidates invited to come forward

The Gladiators formally launched the hunt to fill their vacant hot-seat at the DCJ Group Insurance Arena on Monday following the mutually agreed departure of the joint-bosses and former Gladiators players on Sunday after nearly two years at the helm.

Officials at the EVO-STIK League Premier Division club did not set a deadline in a statement on Monday but said they were looking for a manager or joint team with touchline experience in the National League System. All applications, which should include a detailed CV, should be sent to both chairman Tom Wright at tom.116@hotmail.com and chief executive Keith Brown at keith61brown@yahoo.co.uk.

Appointed in May 2016 as the successors to Mark Hume, former Mickleover Sports bosses Kirkwood and Hopkins stood down following talks with club officials in the wake of their side's 1-0 weekend defeat at Rushall Olympic, a result that left the Gladiators third from bottom in the EVO-STIK League's Premier Division table.

The Chesterfield-based duo were crowd favourites as players at the DCJ Group Insurance Arena more than a decade ago before taking their first steps into management at the helm of Matlock's reserves. Before the appointment of Mark Atkins during the 2008-09 season, they also enjoyed a short spell as caretaker bosses at Causeway Lane.

Image courtesy of @Matlock_TownFC/Twitter

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