Chairman believes St Neots Town have the best of both worlds thanks to new joint managerial duo
St Neots Town chairman Lee Kearns. Picture: DUNCAN LAMONT - Credit: Archant
St Neots Town chairman Lee Kearns reckons his new managerial team ticks all the boxes.
Kearns has appointed Robbie O’Keefe, the academy chief at League Two club Stevenage, to work as joint boss with Andy Davies, who steered Saints to survival in the Southern League Premier Division last season when in charge as caretaker.
O’Keefe, who also boasts previous managerial experience in the non-league game with Hitchin, and Davies, who is in charge of the Saints’ own academy programme, also intends to appoint a coach to work alongside them.
And Kearns believes they can deliver stability and success to the Premier Plus Stadium.
He said: “We wanted the best of both worlds and Robbie working with Andy gives us that. Not only does he work full-time for a professional club, but he also has the background of managing in non-league to compliment Andy’s own experience in the game.
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“We feel we need stability from people who have the knowledge of working at this level and the nous to develop and recruit good players.
“First and foremost we need to ensure we improve our league position and the way we play. Those things will hopefully create a better changing room and a better feel around the place.
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“We’ve tried to get a good mix of experienced players and younger lads with potential to play at Step 3 and beyond.”
The appointment of O’Keefe strengthens the link between St Neots and Stevenage which saw the local side able to benefit from a number of loan players during last season.
It could also work to benefit the League Two side as well, should Saints unearth any talent with the potential to progress in the game. They sold striker Tom Meechan to Newport County last season.
“It’s great to have a development link with a cub like Stevenage which provides a pathway for players,” added Kearns. “But I must stress we are very much our own club with ambitions of our own to move forward.”
St Neots have also appointed Gary Dean as goalkeeping coach and made Ben Yeomans, who is just 24, assistant manager of their academy set-up.
