MALVERN Town boss Les Jones and assistant manager Derek Doyle have agreed to step down at the end of the season after the club’s board voted in favour of a change at the helm.
Club chiefs voted on the future of the management duo last Wednesday evening and informed them officially of their decision 24 hours before Saturday’s West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division clash against Wolverhampton Casuals.
The news did not seem to affect the players, though, as they ran out 4-1 winners thanks to a hat-trick from Kyonn Evans and strike from Matthew Turner.
Jones has been offered a position of Director of Football on the club’s board but the soon-to-be departing Hillsiders boss told the Observer he would prefer to take on a new challenge.
“I am considering the option of going on the board but both myself and Derek are looking for an opportunity in management,” he said.
“We are on the look out for an ambitious club who we can continue our success with.
“I am just a little hurt in the way this was done but we will do our best to get Malvern as high as possible in the league.
“This season has been the only one of my seven seasons where we have had a budget and we will try to get into the top-two.”
Chairman Chris Pinder said the future of Jones and Doyle was well-considered and sparked plenty of debate at the board meeting.
He added it was a very close vote and the process of searching for a new management team was well underway.
“Steadfast in the Malvern dug-out for the past seven seasons, Les has built the foundations for our success and assembled a squad challenging for promotion, so we have reason to be confident about the future,” he said.
“He deserves huge credit for the job he has done for so long.
“Under him, Malvern’s league position and win-to-game ratio has improved every season.
“The stats speak for themselves – top-four finishes for the last four seasons as well as winning the Worcestershire Senior Urn in 2016.
“Les has set a very high bar for the next manager to surpass.
“It will be hard to find a manager as committed, or who will give as much to the club.
“He leaves the team in a significantly better position than when he became manager.”
The board also acknowledged Doyle’s contribution to Malvern’s achievements, stating his recruitment skills ‘should not be underestimated’.
Malvern are due to play Tividale tonight (Tuesday) and make the trip to Dudley Town on Saturday.