Where next for Eagles and Reds? (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Where next for Eagles and Reds?

12:20pm Wednesday 16th September 2009 in Sport By Ian Whiting

Eccleshill United are inviting applicants regarding their vacant first-team position and neighbours Thackley are reviewing their options after the managerial merry-go-round spun into overdrive this week.

Steve Watson confirmed his resignation from Eccleshill on Sunday after informing the club before their Northern Counties East League fixture at Staveley MW the previous day, which the Eagles lost 6-0.

Thackley are also looking for a new boss following the shock decision of Billy Fox to quit Dennyfield and drop down a division to take over, coincidentally, at Staveley.

Eccleshill secretary Mark Holstead said: “Results haven’t been what we hoped for or expected but we are making extremely good progress on the financial side and wanted to give Steve a fair crack of the whip.

“Steve has found it very difficult to work within the current budgetary constraints and that has hampered his efforts to draft new players in.

“We were totally open and up front about our situation when Steve was appointed for a second spell. I’m sure he felt he could persuade players to come in on his reputation alone but it didn’t happen.

“The experienced players the club need to drag us back up the divisions come at a price. They all wanted paying and that isn’t an option for Eccleshill at the moment.”

Anyone interested in applying for the job is invited to send their CV to Holstead at 19 Kingsdale Crescent, BD2 4DD. They can also contact him directly on 01274-634522 or 07794-390061.

Thackley spokesman Chris Frank says they are not casting the net for a replacement just yet despite Fox’s resignation coming out of the blue.

“We have one or two internal leads to follow up first and a few unsolicited enquiries to work our way through,” said Frank.

“The club only found out via a phone call from Billy on Monday afternoon and Staveley went public with it on the league’s website the following day.

“By that time we had already had several people throwing their hats into the ring. It really is remarkable how quickly news travels.”