Let's hope we can take the club forward, says new Sittingbourne joint-manager Jim Ward

SITTINGBOURNE unveiled their new-management team this morning, with Scottish brothers Jim and Danny Ward being appointed as joint-managers.

Jim Ward, 60, who lives in Broadstairs, lost his job as Ramsgate’s manager with only two games of last season remaining on 11 April, following a club restructure which saw Tim Dixon and Darren Beale drafted in as manager and assistant manager respectively.

Ward was asked to step upstairs in a director of football role, but after considering his new position he decided to part company from the Southwood Stadium club just ten days later.

Danny Ward, 42, meanwhile, left Ramsgate on 15 April 2009 and hasn’t been in football since, but the pair have taken a joint-management role to replace rookie manager Joe Dowley at Bourne Park.

Sittingbourne finished a disappointing third-from-bottom in the Ryman League Division One South table, with 30 points from 40 games, avoiding relegation by two points last season.

The Brickies have endured a miserable 2012 so far, only picking up five points from their final eighteen league games of last season.

Jim, to spare confusion, speaks throughout this interview, explained why he turned down the job at Canterbury City, before the Kent League club appointed rookie manager Simon Austin, who ended last season with Kent League champions, and landlords, Herne Bay.

“The reason why I never took the Canterbury job was it was a year to early,” explained the elder Ward brother.

“They wanted to consolidate next year more than get out of the Kent League. 

“That’s why, it wasn’t I turned them down, it wasn’t the time to do it.”

The Ward brothers, who brought a load of honours to Ramsgate as they climbed up from the Kent League in 2005, won the Ryman League Division One South title and finished in fifth-place in the Ryman Premier League after winning the Ryman League Cup for the very first time in the club’s history in 2008.

Ward said: “We met with Andy Spice last night, we’re going in there as joint-managers. 

“I’ve already turned down two jobs since I left Ramsgate.  As I said, there’s plenty of legs left in me and Danny’s the same.”

Ward declined to name the other club, but he cannot wait to get to work and turn around Sittingbourne’s fortunes on the pitch.

He said: “We’re just glad to go back in at a club like Sittingbourne.

“It’s always been a club I’ve admired.  I get on well with the lads on the committee, with the Pitts brothers (John and Peter) and Andy Spice the chairman and I know everything concerned at Sittingbourne having groundshared there as manager of Maidstone.

“I know all the good bits and the bad bits about it.

“I’d like to think we can finish better than third-bottom. It’s a two-year plan.  We go in trying to consolidate next year.   They’ve still got some good players.  It wasn’t all the managers fault (Joe Dowley and Bradley Spice) it all went wrong.”

When asked about the future of the current Sittingbourne squad, Ward said: “Hopefully most of the players will stay at the club and the ones that me and Danny bring along, will just add to it.

“I’ve only been given the job since this morning.  Everybody will be invited back. We’ll have a meeting with the players as soon as possible and we’ll go from there.

“I know most of the players anyway.  The ones who want to stay, great.  The ones who want to leave because it’s new management, so be it as well.”

And Ward revealed that he has is happy with the budget that he has to work with next season.

He said:  “Decent.  It’s alright. I’ve never been one to motivate anybody’s budget.  I’ve only got what I’ve got to work for.  It’s enough to get me at least midtable and consolidate. 

“What we have to do is get the fans’ back on side again.  It was their lowest average attendance last year,  so let’s see if we can get it around the 270 mark.

“I know everybody’s attendances are down, but Sittingbourne are a better supported club than that.  It’s a decent fan-base so we’ll be looking to improve on that.”

Ward admitted a director-of-football role at Ramsgate was not for him.

“That’s why I never took the director-of-football job. My feeling is that I didn’t want to make whoever the manager was – nothing against Timmy Dixon.  I just didn’t want to make anybody a better manager being the director of football, which is what would have happened.

“Me and Danny will stand on our own two feet at Sittingbourne and let’s hope we can take the club forward.”

Visit Sittingbourne’s website: www.sittingbournefc.co.uk