Ossett Town chairman James Rogers says Craig Elliott was a success at Ingfield and wants his successor by Saturday
Chairman James Rogers has thanked departed manager Craig Elliott for putting Ossett Town back on the map, but wishes he hadn’t left for Shaw Lane Aquaforce, writes James Grayson (Twitter: @jamesAgrayson).
Elliott resigned from Ossett on Monday night after almost two years in charge at Ingfield and dropped two divisions to become the boss at NCEL Division One side Aquaforce.
Mr Rogers was shocked by the phone call he received on the M62 while he was on his way to Warrington for a family matter.
But, he accepted Elliott’s decision and speaking last night Mr Rogers praised Elliott for work at Ossett in the last 20 months.
“The last 24 hours have been mad and challenging in some respective,” he said.
“It was about 26 hours ago that I got a call from Craig to tell me he had accepted the job at Shaw Lane.
“I wished him all the best and thanked him for what he has done because he has been a good manager for what he has done here in the last two seasons.
“He’s done a good job. He pulled together a good team, we played some good football, we are eighth in the league and we are probably playing better than what the budget would suggest where you are.
“Craig said he had made the job better than what he was when he took over and I would agree with that. When Craig took over we were at best a bottom six/eight team and he set himself a challenge of getting into the top ten.
“We didn’t quite achieve it last season, but we’re achieving this season.
“I was surprised by him dropping two divisions because I would have hoped he would have saw the ambition we have.
“But I understand what Shaw Lane are doing and their ambition and Craig has obviously bought into that.”
Ossett Town chairman James Rogers
Mr Rogers raced back from Warrington and chaired a hastily arranged committee meeting to discuss the club’s next move.
Within minutes of the news breaking, candidates started sending their CVs and as of last night, the club have received more than a dozen applications.
Five people have already been interviewed for the job as of last night.
Steven Jeff held the reins for last night’s 3-3 draw with New Mills and Ossett hope to name Elliott’s permanent successor before the trip to Cammell Laird on Saturday.
However, Mr Rogers says that if more time is needed, then it will be taken.
“The plan now is to appoint a manager as quickly as possible, but make sure we get the right manager,” he said.
“There has got to be a balance between doing it quick and making sure we consider all options in terms of who might be interested and their capabilities and experience.
“In terms of being as quick as possible, we have a good squad of players and it would be good to retain as many of them as possible.
“To do that, they need some clarity on what is going to happen next and some clear leadership so I think from their perspective, to get a manager sooner rather than later would be good.
“I think we should only do that if we find the right manager. If we need to take a bit longer to get the right manager, we’ll take it.
“It is very difficult to say what will happen because its 26 hours since Craig left and I’m getting applicants every half an hour. My phone is pinging.
“If I said I wanted to make a decision by Thursday and then got a really good applicant on Thursday morning, I’d say I want to see that applicant.
“I want to get the best manager for Ossett Town Football Club to take us forward. I’m a bit flexible. I’m not ruling out anything out.
“It would be great if we could find a top quality manager who we could get in time for Saturday, but I’m not just going to appoint in time for Saturday just for the sake of appointing.”
Plenty of candidates have been linked to the job and on the type of manager Ossett are hoping to appoint, Mr Rogers added: “What we’re looking for is someone who can come in who has got good experience of this level of football or similar level of football.
“Someone who can attract the players we think we need to attract to be competitive at this level.
“Whether they’re young or old, it doesn’t really matter.
“What I liked about Craig when we interviewed him when we appointed him was that he was young, enthusiastic and achieved where he had been elsewhere and we liked that.”
Caretaker manager Jeff was asked on Monday evening about taking charge of the New Mills clash and could be still in charge at Cammell Laird if a decision on the next manager is delayed.
Former Tadcaster left-back Jeff is a popular figure at Ingfield and Mr Rogers explained the reasons for picking him for the interim role.
“Steven has been a very good player for us this season, he has been putting in solid performances for us and been captain for the last couple of games,” he said.
“We thought we would give him the call to see if he would take the team for the New Mills game.
“Jeffy is well-respected at the club. He wasn’t expecting it and I think he was quietly flattered and in the circumstances he agreed to do it.
“We then started ringing round players to make sure they would be here.”