New Long Sutton Athletic player/manager Danny Goddard wants to bring the glory days back to London Road.
The veteran striker, who lists Holbeach United, Moulton Harrox and Gedney Drove End among his former South Holland clubs, will be assisted by player/coach Matt Cawthorn and ex-Sutton boss Kevin Cawthorn next season.
Goddard should be well known by fans of the Magpies – he was part of the team that helped the club end a lengthy trophy drought by winning the Spalding Inter Services Trophy and PFA Challenge Cup double in 2009/10.
Since then, there’s not been an awful lot for Sutton to shout about in the ChromaSport Peterborough League, culminating in a rock-bottom finish in Division One last year.
In contrast, Goddard enjoyed his football last season and played alongside 17-year-old son Dominic at Boston League side Leverton – winning three trophies in the process.
But he returned to Sutton for the final few games in a bid to help save them from relegation to Division Two. The Magpies still finished bottom, but have since been given a relegation reprieve due to restructuring in the new-look six division PDFL.
Despite finishing at the foot, Goddard’s impact was sizeable – prompting the club to offer the 37-year-old his first role in management.
He was initially against the idea, but is now excited about beginning a new chapter in his career.
He said: “I did feel that the offer maybe came one or two years too soon for me at first. I was really enjoying my football playing alongside my son, it gave me a real buzz.
“But when I thought about it, I wondered if I’d ever get offered the job again.
“That flipped it for me, as I think I’d have regretted it further down the line.
“One big thing for me was that I still want to carry on playing. However, I don’t really think you can manage a team from the pitch.
“So it was important for me to get Kevin on-board. He’ll be my eyes and ears on the sideline, while I’ll also have Matt to help me too.
“Matt’s a natural goalscorer, I wouldn’t like to guess how many goals he’s scored over the years.
“Between us, I think we’ve got a strong management team.”
Having just endured a torrid campaign, the first port of call for Goddard is to steady the sinking Sutton ship.
He’s reached out to a number of his former team-mates and contacts in the South Holland area and wants to bring in faces that he knows – including some former team-mates from the Sutton side of 2009/10.
Goddard has a five-year plan in mind to steer the Magpies to the promised land of the Peterborough Premier Division, but has more modest goals for his first year in charge.
The striker admits that he’d take a top ten finish, something that would represent real progress.
“It’s true that we’ve probably had our worst season in years,” admitted the new Sutton supremo. “We had such a great season in 2010, but that team fell apart.
“I’d like to get some of them back here if I can. My plan is to surround myself with players that I know and I’ll try to stabilise the club.
“A top half finish next season would represent real progress for the club, but the aim is to reach the Premier Division at some stage.
“There’s no pressure on me to drastically change things and reach that level immediately, this is more of a five-year plan.
“I certainly feel that Long Sutton is a club that deserves to be at that level and I’ll do all that I can to take us there.”
To do that, Goddard knows that he’ll have to make changes to the squad.
With that in mind, he’s issuing an open invite to all players, be they past members of his old team or those looking for a fresh challenge, to join Sutton for pre-season.
They are starting training on Tuesday, June 30 and will meet twice a week (every Tuesday and Thursday) up until the start of the new Division One campaign.
With a host of friendlies already arranged, it’s very much the beginning of a new era for the Magpies.
