Opportunity knocks at Daniels

Stamford AFC chairman Chris Rivett believes the club’s next manager has a great opportunity to exploit the success of Graham Drury who resigned on Monday to take over at Boston United.

Drury leaves the Evo-Stik NPL First Division South Daniels second in the table with 13 wins from 20 outings and Rivett says whoever replaces him at Kettering Road has an ‘exciting opportunity’ to pick up the baton of a winning team backed by a club on the rise.

He said: "This is an attractive job and an exciting opportunity. Normally a managerial vacancy occurs because something isn't working, but it's the complete opposite here. The club is well placed to support an ambitious manager, someone who wants to build something from a decent platform.

"It's a great chance for someone to make their mark and we are looking forward to discussing it further and making sure we find the right person who can deliver success for Stamford."

The Daniels Chairman expects the club’s board to have a strong list of candidates to short list for the post but in the meantime insists their first priority is to support caretaker manager David Staff who’s preparing the squad for Saturday's trip to Romulus.

"I believe we will end up with a strong shortlist to choose from but now our attentions turn to supporting David Staff in his role as caretaker and making sure he has the backing he needs," said Rivett.

"David is well respected in the dressing room and was successful when he previously helped out between managers last season. He will have learned a lot from that experience and I am confident will provide us with stability we need, while we discuss who the right man to lead the club forward in the long term is."

Rivett admits Drury’s departure came as a shock but wishes the new Pilgrims manager well in the Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division after hailing the service he’d given the club.

He added: "Naturally the news has come as something of a blow, especially so soon after Saturday's 5-3 win over Northwich took us past 40 points for the season. I fully understand and respect the reasons why Graham made the decision.

"The aim at the start of the campaign was to deliver two points a game so we could put ourselves in a position to challenge for a top five position after Christmas and he's done that, and for that we're grateful because it has set-up a fantastic opportunity for his successor."

Applicants for the Stamford job should email the Daniels Chairman direct at: chairman@stamfordafc.co.uk.