Harwood's help should boost Lions

Former Sidlesham manager Malcolm Harwood has been appointed the new assistant boss at Pagham as the club bid to climb the Sussex division-one league table.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Nov 2013, 19:07 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 20:43 BST
Malcolm Harwood is John Price's new No2 at Pagham Picture by Chris HattonMalcolm Harwood is John Price's new No2 at Pagham Picture by Chris Hatton
Malcolm Harwood is John Price's new No2 at Pagham Picture by Chris Hatton

Having left the Sids at the end of last season, Harwood has made the switch to Nyetimber Lane in a move which will allow player-coach Daren Pearce to focus on his matchday responsibilities.

That was a important factor for manager John Price, who said: “I’m still quite an inexperienced manager and with my assistant Daren Pearce still playing, it made perfect sense to bring Malcolm in to provide another voice and opinion for the players.”

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After a disappointing start to the season, Price remains optimistic for the rest of the campaign, and is confident his new assistant will give the squad the impetus needed to allow an improvement in results.

The Pagham boss spoke of the impact he hopes his new number two will have on the squad, saying: “Appointing Malcolm was an easy decision as he will bring a wealth of management experience.

“He managed Sidlesham to the division-three title last year. He has also previously worked with Chichester.”

Pagham are struggling in the league at the moment with the club languishing in 14th place behind local rivals Selsey and Chichester.

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Price said: “It has been very up and down. We started really poorly but recently we have strung some good results together. We are five games unbeaten leading into this weekend’s home fixture against Worthing. ”

Despite their poor start, Price still expects his side to be challenging towards the summit of the table come the end of the campaign.

“Our aim for the rest of the season is to push as high up the league as we can. I still believe with the players we have at the club we can push for a top-five or six finish. I would also expect a good cup run and I’m really looking forward to our Sussex Senior Cup match away to Burgess Hill.”

Worthing United’s visit to Nyetimber Lane on Saturday is a first outing with the new-look management team in place and Price expects to take all three points.

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“Worthing are having a tough time and I will be preparing my players for a tough game against a team who are scrapping for their lives, but nothing less than three points will be acceptable.”

Pagham beat their visitors 9-0 in the cup recently.

The Lions are at home again next Tuesday, when Lancing visit in the RUR Cup third round.

JAMES SANDFORD

Related topics:SussexWorthing