Afan Lido manager Wayne Davies has stepped down from his role as first team manager of the Welsh League Division One club, after just one season in charge.
The former Port Talbot Town manager had taken charge of the South Wales outfit at the beginning of last season and led the side to an impressive fifth place in the division last term, winning 15 of the club’s 30 games in the process.
Davies took charge of first team affairs from Liam McCreesh, who had previously led the team in a player-manager capacity, allowing the midfielder to focus on playing whilst learning the trade under the tutelage of Davies.
The former Port Talbot Town midfielder continued in his role as player, but many will now be questioning whether he will return to the management fold now Davies has stepped down from his position.
Davies guided Lido to a fantastic season last term, and his leadership oversaw numerous impressive results during the 2017-18 campaign. The high point being the eight match unbeaten streak in the league that stretched from December until mid February, which included a 2-1 away win over league champions Llanelli Town and a 3-3 draw with local rivals Port Talbot Town.
The feat seems all the more impressive when the league’s joint-second top scorer, Mark Jones, departed Lido midway through the season for JD Welsh Premier League outfit Carmarthen Town.
However, Davies must be credited for bringing Jones to the club and using his tactical nous that saw the club’s frontman net a blistering 21 goals in the opening half of the season.
Despite the loss of Jones, the club continued to perform and amassed a further five wins without their lead marksman.
The club will now be searching for a new manager, although many will be hoping McCreesh returns to his position of manager in order to maintain a sense of stability ahead of the new season.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Afan Lido football club would like to thank Wayne Davies for his valuable work and commitment shown over the last season, Wayne has stepped down as team manager where he guided the side to a top 5 finish. We are hopeful that he will remain at the club in a different capacity.</p>— Afan Lido F.C. (@CPDLidoAfan) <a href=”https://twitter.com/CPDLidoAfan/status/1009335114344562688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>June 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
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A club statement read:
“Afan Lido football club would like to thank Wayne Davies for his valuable work and commitment shown over the last season, Wayne has stepped down as team manager where he guided the side to a top 5 finish. We are hopeful that he will remain at the club in a different capacity.”
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