Delayed start but Danylyk wins

Appointed on Thursday within hours of Casswell standing down after five years at the helm, Danylyk had to wait for more than an hour before match officials fearing more rain finally gave the go ahead for the play-off chaser's fixture with Rugby Town to get underway at 4.25pm, Tim Grice bagging the only goal in a 1-0 win for the Blues.

Casswell decided to step down after Tuesday's s 4-1 home defeat to local rivals Newcastle Town dented the club's play-off hopes. Danylyk, who took charge for the first time after spending the last four months as Casswell's number two, has told fans that the opportunity to take the helm on a permanent basis with Jamie Cullerton as his assistant manager was too good to turn down.

Before Saturday's victory, the 33-year-old midfielder told the Stoke Sentinel: “When the board approached me and asked if I would like to take over, it didn’t take me long to make a decision. I have been with Leek Town for a long time and I love the place, so it was an easy decision for me."

Since his appointment in 2011 as the successor to Neil Baker, Casswell had guided the Blues to the play-offs on three occasions as well as to a memorable FA Cup third qualifying round victory over Boston United in 2014.

In a club statement announcing his departure after decision was reluctantly accepted by the Blues board, Leek Town chairman Jon Eeles paid tribute to second longest serving manager in the club's modern era, pictured below.

He said: “This is a difficult announcement to make but Lee was adamant he wanted to resign and I had to respect his decision and reasons for doing so. Lee is very much part of the fabric of the club and will still be involved in social and fund raising activities, which speaks volumes for Lee and the way the club is run.

"Lee will be be on hand to provide a smooth and seamless transition to the new management team. In addition, the Board has a wealth of managerial experience at it's disposal in the form of Neil Baker and Steve Norris that can be drawn upon."

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