Athersley Rec are pleased to announce that after a lot of consideration and discussions with his family and the club that Sean Margison has agreed to pledge his future for the coming season to Athersley Rec as First Team Manager.

Sean, who was Manager with Jason Dodsworth as his assistant last season, has taken time out over the past week to consider the impact of taking on the Managers role following Jasons decision to stand down due to family commitments, and after taking all things in to consideration has come up with the answer the club were hoping for.
It wasn’t an easy decision for Sean, for the most of last season the Rec were in a constant battle in the bottom half of the table, and because of the clubs successes over the years both Sean and Jason were taking the weight of the situation on their shoulders and to a point it was becoming more of a chore than a pleasure as the weeks went by.

Having been with the club for 26 years, starting as a player, Sean has moved through the ranks at Athersley Rec and has gained the respect of everyone involved at the club, even though he is of a quiet nature, when Sean speaks people listen.

The Board of Directors are really pleased that they have been able to retain Sean’s services and have committed to giving him every support they can for the coming season. Even though the club has an illustrious past, everyone at the club are fully aware of the challenges that lay ahead for Sean and his team, playing against teams that have five and six figure budgets every week is no easy task and just to survive at this level with very little financial clout is an achievement in itself.

The club, along with Seans input, are now beginning the search for a number two to work with Sean, with the emphasis being more on the coaching side than management and will be advertising this role in the immediate future.

General Manager Pete Goodlad said that he was thrilled that Sean had agreed to stay on as Manager, as a person who is aware of the ethos of the club and its financial restraints it is important that we have someone at the helm who understands that the club cannot throw money at resolving issues on the field, but have to rely on our policy of bringing through our own youngsters and building on the hard work that has been done at this club over the years.