Following the news that the club will remain at Step 5 for the 24/25 season, we can announce that manager James Morse has decided to step down at the end of the current season, along with assistants Steve Jones and Mark Lee.

James, a committed club man with over 250 first team games as a player took on the role in January 2022 following a spell as reserve team manager and was tasked with keeping the club in the Hellenic Premier League with the squad perilously close to the drop zone at the time. A solid run of results followed, starting his reign with a clean sheet and a 1-0 win away at Roman Glass St. George, followed by a 3-0 home win over Westfields as spirits around the club lifted before defeats at the hands of Brimscombe & Thrupp, Cribbs and champions Bishops Cleeve once again had us looking over our shoulder. A run of draws followed before a lone Matty Board goal in a 1-0 win away at Tuffley Rovers ensured job done with 4 games to spare.

Onto the 22/23 season and a 16th place finish was complimented with not 1 but 2 cup finals, a real achievement for the club given the ever growing gulf in resources between clubs at this level.

Former manager Mark Lee joined the coaching staff for the 23/24 season as Morse, Jones and Lee successfully navigated a season plagued by player unavailability to ensure a tenth consecutive season of Step 5 football at Swan Road.

A mark of note throughout James' reign has been his commitment to the progression of young players, and many given their debut by the current management team from our youth teams have become vital members of the squad and club.

As a club we sincerely thank James, Mark, Steve and Ross for their unwavering dedication, passion and determination in some of the most testing of circumstances and will be forever grateful for their efforts in retaining our status within the pyramid and for developing and progressing our club internally.

We believe the club is in an excellent place going forward, with one of the best sporting facilities in the Forest of Dean, a thriving youth system with more than 250 players, 4 senior men's teams, ladies teams and lively social scene.

We now welcome applications for the position of First Team manager for the 24/25 season and would encourage those interested in further information, or applying for the role to contact us on lydneytownafc@gmail.com in the first instance.