Tom Greaves and Danny Forrest extend stay at Thackley

The duo will remain as a double act but Greaves, who scored 26 goals last season to finish the club’s top scorer and the fourth top scorer in the league overall, will also continue in his player/manager role.

As 2022 came to a close Greaves stepped up to the interim manager role at a time where Thackley were having troubles both on and off the pitch. The forward made in an instant impact as his side claimed a valuable victory over rivals Eccleshill United.

In January 2023, Forrest joined the club to accompany Greaves in the dugout and the pair directed Thackley to some impressive results which, following a mid-season refresh of the squad, saw Thackley AFC pull comfortably away from the relegation places as they ended the season in 14th place.

Speaking to the Thackley AFC website, chairman Ben Oliver had the following to say about the pair: “We are delighted that Tom and Danny have committed to the Club for the upcoming season. Whilst only confirming this now, in reality all parties were keen to continue the work which the Tom, Danny and their coaching staff have done in the second half of the season and I know planning from both of them started the day after the Handsworth game for the next season, meaning we are in a good place for next season already. We will shortly be announcing our pre-season schedule and there is a good mix of teams in there including some exciting ones who will be making their way to Dennyfield. This is testament again to how Tom and Danny are regarded in the game that those teams are looking to Thackley as a place to come for their pre-season. It was clear from everyone associated with the Club what a lift the pair brought to the place at the turn of the year, and we are excited to see how their vision shapes out next season. As a Club, we will do what we can to support them."

Danny Forrest (left) has also renewed his contract with Thackley ahead of a new season in the dugout (Image: Martin Taylor)

Joint Manager Danny Forrest also commented as follows on the re-appointment: “Tom and I are both delighted to be staying on and we are grateful for the support we have had from everyone at the Club since taking over. The Club has displayed real signs of progression on and off the pitch since January and we are committed to giving everything to push on again. Tom and I are ambitious and we feel both ourselves and the Club are aligned in terms of the way we want to build and grow in the future which is hugely attractive.

"Regarding current players, we inherited a strong and committed group who are a pleasure to work with. We were also really pleased with some of the recruitment we did in the second half of the season and we are looking to add some more prior to pre-season in order to strengthen.”