New Manager Appointed

Ossett Town AFC are pleased to announce the appointment of John Reed as manager of Ossett Town AFC. John will be assisted in his new role by newly appointed assistant manager and coach Clive Freeman.

The club has acted quickly to appoint an experienced non-league manager following Craig Elliott's sudden resignation on Monday of this week.

James Rogers, Chairman of Ossett Town AFC said:

"We are delighted that someone of John's experience and calibre applied for the job. In non-league football his record speaks for itself and he's had a lot of success that we hope will be replicated here. The team is performing very well and in chance of play-off contention so it was important to try and ensure stability and continuity with the quick appointment of a very strong and experienced manager. John has managed over 2000 non-league games over a thirty year career and brings a wealth of knowledge and importantly previous success to his new role at Ossett Town AC. We very much look forward to working with John and Clive to continue and improve upon the good work started by Craig. I would also like to put on record my thanks to everyone who applied for the job in the last few days - the interest was significant and of a high calibre."

John Reed, newly appointed manager of Ossett Town said:

"Ossett Town is a well established and respected non-league football club and Clive and I are excited to be taking on the managerial helm. We look forward to working with the players, present and new, and everyone else at the club in our new role. I have been looking to get back into management for a while, and have turned down a few jobs as we wanted it to be the right one. The Chairman has explained the short and long term vision the committee has for the club and that is something we want to be a part of. Craig Elliott has put the club in an excellent position to possibly challenge for a play-off place so over the next few days I will spend time speaking to the squad and bringing in additional players if required”.

John Reed has a wealth of managerial experience winning the Northern Premier League first division with Harrogate Town in 2002. He also won the West Riding County Cup in consecutive seasons before moving to Stalybridge Celtic in the Conference North midway through the 2005/2006 season with the side 18 points from safety. Reed oversaw a great escape and the following year the side missed out on a play-off place on the final day of the season.

Reed had further success at Buxton in the Northern Premier League where he was assisted by Clive Freeman for six seasons. The Derbyshire Senior cup was won and promotion was missed out on following a play-off final defeat. Most recently John was assistant manager at Scarborough, an experience that whetted his appetite to get back into management.

John Reed will take up the position formally from next Monday. This weekend caretaker manager Steven Jeff will lead the side for the visit to Cammell Laird before Reed takes up the reigns for Tuesday's trip to play-off hopefuls Ramsbottom United.

Updated 13:40 - 5 Sep 2019 by Neil Spofforth