Huntingdon Town chairman Doug McIlwain believes a change of assistant manager will be a huge benefit to the club.NO

Nather Al-Khatib was relieved of his duties last weekend after only a couple of months in the role.

He was quickly replaced by senior player Chris Jones, who will continue to figure on the pitch as well as assisting manager James Brattan off it.

“I asked Nather to leave as I truly felt he wasn’t bringing anything to the club,” said McIlwain. “I need someone to work alongside Jimmy who understands Huntingdon - and Chris is that man.

“We have a Huntingdon-born owner, we now have an assistant manager from Huntingdon and also several players from the town. Chris is well respected and knows plenty of relevant players who can our club to progress.”

Jones’ first managerial involvement is this Saturday when Huntingdon entertain lowly Oakham United at Jubilee Park.

Oakham are managed by Ryan Hunnings, who began the season as joint boss of Town until being sacked by McIlwain in October.

“It was a tough decision to let Ryan go,” added McIlwain. “Having joint managers was something I felt would work, but it simply didn’t.

“I’m looking forward to welcoming Ryan back on Saturday. There’s certainly no animosity towards him as far as anyone at Huntingdon Town is concerned and I’m expecting a good game.”

Town have seen their last two fixtures - away at Bourne and Buckingham - postponed. They’ve not played since a December 23 home defeat at the hands of Harrowby.