I felt the Whitstable Town job was too good an opportunity to turn down, says Lloyd Blackman

LLOYD BLACKMAN says it’s a great honour to return to Whitstable Town as manager at the end of this month.

The former Ramsgate head coach replaces Scott Porter, who moves upstairs as director of football.

“Firstly, it’s a great honour to be given the opportunity to manage Whitstable Town, a club very close to my heart, having spent close to a season here as a player and captain nearly 10 years ago,” Blackburn told www.whitstabletownfc.co.uk.

“When Scott approached me recently, asking if I would be interested in taking the role and working with him again, I felt it was too good an opportunity to turn down.

“Further meetings with the board confirmed my thoughts, especially once knowing the plans for the future outlined by Ron Martin and the new chairman Steve Clayton.

“Scott has done a remarkable job here with league and cup success, plus currently sitting in the top half of the league in the club’s first season back in this division. He deserves a huge amount of credit and I look forward to building upon his success.

“I look forward to working closely with the Whitstable Town Juniors and our own Academy headed by Josh Algar with the aim to produce as many top quality players as possible and to create a pathway for our youth into our first team.

“Lastly, it’s a real privilege to be given this opportunity and I will do everything in my power to create success. We have three games left of this season to finish as high up the table as possible and I look forward to being around for the end of the season before my work really starts.”

The Oystermen are sitting in tenth-place in the Bostik South East Division table, having collected 42 points and complete their campaign with a trip to East Grinstead Town on Easter Saturday; a home game against Hythe Town on Easter Monday and a trip to Three Bridges on the final day of the season (27 April).  All games kick off at 15:00.

Visit Whitstable Town’s website: www.whitstabletownfc.co.uk