Commitment won't be a problem

Pictured at Ashton United last September before leaving to take the helm at Stalybridge Celtic after guiding the Robins for a final time in the Emirates FA Cup, the duo have told fans they are aiming to be worthy successors to Chris Willcock who ended his four and a half year reign in April after taking the Hillmen to an FA Vase final and into the EVO-STIK NPL as North West Counties Football League champions.

After taking the Robins to the play-offs in three consecutive seasons in the EVO-STIK NPL's top flight, the pair are determined to set their sights on promotion after parting company with the National League North club in February after just five months at Bower Fold.

The EVO-STIK NPL First Division North club's new management team told fans they were well aware of the success Willcock had overseen at the Arthur Goldthorpe Stadium in an interview over the weekend following their appointment on Friday.

Phillips said: "First and foremost, we wanted to be back in football. It’s a big club and a good locality. We had a couple of other offers on the table but obviously this was going to be our first choice, with the size of the club, what it can do and, I think, where it can go."

Halford is confident supporters won't see any lack of commitment from their side after they jumped at the chance to return at a club that was already on an upward curve and last season finished just outside the play-offs in eighth spot.

He said: "I’ve never been out of football since I left school and this 12-14 weeks out gave me a long time to reflect and look at what might be out there that gives you a chance to move forward. When this job became available it was something we jumped at and we wanted to nail this down as our number one priority.

"We can see that over the last few years Glossop have done really really well and I’m sure the fans don’t want it to peter out, they will want to keep going. That ambition matches our ambition, we want to keep going. We need to hit the ground running and you’ll see, like Paul says, the lads will want to play for Glossop, and if they don’t, and they don’t put a shift in, off they pop."

He added: "Fans who pay the money want to see people have a right go, I don’t think you can ask for much more than that. Then you've obviously got your quality on top. That’s what we aim to provide."

Image courtesy of Ashton United

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