A new era: Lee Ashforth is the new manager of Harrogate Railway. Picture: Caught Light Photography
Rebuilding the team is the main priority for Lee Ashforth after he was unveiled as the new manager of Harrogate Railway.
Ashforth was the only man approached for the job after Billy Miller was appointed as Paul Marshall’s replacement at Toolstation NCEL Premier Division side Tadcaster Albion.
The former goalkeeper has been Miller’s assistant for three years and he had initially planned on moving to i2i Sports Stadium with him until Railway wanted him to take the top job.
He now takes on the task of continuing his and Miller’s work which ended with a record-breaking eighth-place finish in the Evo Stik Division One North.
“Based on last season we probably over-achieved,” said Ashforth, who also assisted Miller at Liversedge.
“We did fantastically well and only finished a few points off the play-offs.
“Now whether we can replicate that, I’m not so sure as it is obvious that we need to rebuild the squad.
“We have lost Rob Youhill, Malachi Farquharson, Nathan Cartman went in January so we have lost a few players.
“I’m sure Billy might take one or two players to Tadcaster and I have had that conversation with him.
“It will leave one or two gaps and one of the first things I need to do is link up with Simon Weaver at Harrogate Town again because the relationship is important to us.”
Tadcaster registered their interest in Miller last week after contacting the club’s chairman Nigel Corner.
Railway’s committee reacted quickly to the possibility of losing their manager and identified Ashforth as the man to succeed Miller, if he did leave for Tadcaster.
Ashforth did take his time considering the opportunity, but after receiving Miller’s blessing, he accepted the position after Miller’s departure.
He also admits that he has always held a desire to become a number one.
“I’ve worked with Billy for five years and before that with Eric Gilchrist at Ossett Albion for two years,” he said.
“I feel I have served my apprenticeship and I feel that it is my time to put my toe in the water and have a go.
“I felt like that if I didn’t do it now I never would and would be a number two for ever more.
“It is something I have always wanted to do.
“I have worked in football for ten or 15 years doing community coaching at FC Halifax.
“It was always my ambition to be a manager.
“I got contacted by the Harrogate Railway chairman (Nigel Corner) on Friday night asking if I would be interested in the role should Billy go to Tadcaster.
“It was a contingency plan at the time because no-one knew what was happening with Tadcaster apart from that they had contacted the club.
“I said to Nigel that he needed to come back with something concrete because I didn’t want to go behind Billy’s back when I already discussed going to Tadcaster with him as his assistant.
“They voted on Saturday to appoint me as manager if Billy did go.
“I spoke to Billy on Sunday (about what to do if he did leave) and had a good chat. After speaking to Billy, he half persuaded me really by saying ‘look give it go because you might regret further down the line’.”
Appointing Ashforth is the biggest decision the Railway committee has had to make since Miller replaced Nigel Danby in May 2012.
Railway chairman Nigel Corner added: “We knew we had to move fast and not be a rudderless ship at this time of the year.
“We have Ash who is a continuation of Billy in some respects as he has worked with Billy at Liversedge and here.
“He is well-liked around the place and he is an FA coach. He is a great lad who has great contacts and I think he will do a really good job for us.
“The universal thought from the committee was that Ash was the right man for the job.
“We said that we didn’t need to go hunting around because we had the right man already in our midst.
“The aspiration is now to carry on where we left off.”