New St Ives Town manager Ricky Marheineke’s first challenge will be to convince some of his former Huntingdon Town players to join him at the Westwood Road ProEdge Stadium.

Marheineke, who left Huntingdon eight months ago to become the assistant manager at Histon, was confirmed as the new St Ives manager last week, and he says he is now talking to a handful of his former players – but money might be an issue.

Marheineke told The Hunts Post: “I think a lot of people expect me to go back to Huntingdon and take a few of their players but after speaking to a couple it is quite clear that Huntingdon have probably got a bigger budget than the one I have at St Ives.

“Those players will have to make a decision based on whether they want to learn, develop and play at a higher level – or whether they want to play for money.

“My gut instinct is they will opt to play for money and I am not going to stand here and criticise them for that because at the end of the day we all need money to live.

“It is down to those individuals to make those decisions based on their own personal circumstances. If any of the few I have spoken to do opt to come across then brilliant. If not, then so be it.”

Marheineke takes over from Jez Hall and Warren Everdell, who were joint managers at the club for 12 years, taking it from the bottom of Division One of the United Counties League and into the Southern League last year.

Marheineke said: “To take the club from the bottom of Step 6 to a mid-table finish in Step four with numerous cups along the way is a massive achievement and as soon as those two decided to call it a day it was a job that was always going to attract a lot of interest. I was just one of those people interested.”

Director Gary Clarke said the board was surprised by the quality of the candidates – but Marheineke was the one that stood out.

“We think we have got the right man. Ricky is a local boy with local contacts and we have great hopes for the future with him bringing the club on.”

Marheineke said: “I think I am definitely a better manager and a better coach after my experiences during the last eight months at Histon

“After speaking to the directors at St Ives, it was quite clear it was something I wanted to get involved in and I am grateful to be given the opportunity to manage the football club.”