Cray Wanderers appoint Tommy Warrilow to keep the club in the Ryman League

Sunday 04th January 2015

CRAY WANDERERS have unveiled Tommy Warrilow as their fourth manager of the season.

The Wands have turned to the former Tonbridge Angels boss to keep the club in the Ryman League.

The club remain second-from-bottom in the Division One North table, having collected three wins and eight draws from their 25 games.

The club are eight points adrift of safety and have 21 games left to save their season, otherwise they’ll be playing Southern Counties East Football League (the old Kent League) football for the first time since 2004.

Chairman Gary Hillman started the season with Keith Bird at the helm, but the former Bromley reserve team manager was axed on 16 September 2014 after a year in charge, having finished at the foot of the Ryman Premier League last season.

Mr Hillman then turned to Michael Paye (Bird’s assistant) and Gary Abbott, but Paye moved upstairs in December, to leave Abbott in sole charge, but he couldn’t turn the tide and his last game in charge was a 1-0 defeat away to Chatham Town on 27 December.

The Wands has offered Warrilow a deal until the end of the season to save the club’s bacon.

“It’s obvious that something had to be done to give us a chance to stay up this season,” said Mr Hillman.

“Tommy is vastly experienced and used to working at a higher level and we are very pleased that he has joined us to try and kick start our season.

“We have got in to a losing mentality lately and I don’t think Gary Abbott stood a chance of getting out of this because of that and we needed to freshen things up and get a positive attitude around the club.”

Warrilow played five games for the club during their last season at Oxford Road during the 1997-98 season.

He left Tonbridge Angels at the end of last season after seven seasons in charge at Longmead Stadium, leaving the club after the club’s three-year spell in Conference South came to an end.

Warrilow was then scout at Vanarama Conference South club Ebbsfleet United up until Steve Brown’s departure from Stonebridge Road in November.

Warrilow’s first game in charge of The Wands is on Tuesday night when ninth-placed Thurrock visit Hayes Lane – and he must hit the ground running with three points over Mark Stimson’s side.

Visit Cray Wanderers’ website: www.pitchero.com/clubs/craywands

Cray Wanderers v Thurrock
Ryman League Division One North
Tuesday 6^th January 2015
Kick Off 7:45pm
At Hayes Lane, Bromley, Kent BR2 9EF