It’s been a busy 24 hours for Grant Shenton! Here’s what he had to say about the following:
Renewing his contract and his ambitions for the 26-27 season
‘I always had every intention of staying regardless of interest from elsewhere, but it was still nice to get it sorted so soon after our promotion was confirmed. Now it is all about getting us into a similar position to where we got ourselves last year.
‘I do think that we have got enough in the changing room, with a couple of additions, to really challenge again next season and that is my intention. I have always been clear that I am not interested in consolidating at any point – it does not matter to me what resources we have or what expectations other people have of us. My expectation is to try and win every game of football that we play, and then we will see where we are at the end of the season. That is the model which we had this year and it worked pretty well. so we will be following exactly the same game plan and not worry too much about what other teams might have to offer in terms of budgets and resources.
‘I have already seen people making judgements about us and what we need to be successful, and me and my staff will be looking to prove them wrong. I am really excited to have the opportunity to carry on working with this fantastic mix of young and experienced players to see if we can do something special again with them. I had a clear idea of what I wanted from them at the start of last season, so we will now be doubling down and I have every confidence that they will rise to the extra challenge of playing step 3 football.
The departure of Deane Smalley
‘I completely understand the reasoning behind Deane’s decision to step away from the game. He has spent more than 20 years in professional and semi professional football, and has had one hell of a career. He wanted to bow out on the high that was last weekend, and I totally respect that.
‘I will miss him a lot – he and I go back quite a way as players and now as a management team as well – and he will be equally missed by many others at the club. He was a massive support to me last season, and always seemed to know when I was getting too carried away or when I could do with getting a bit more carried away! The different opinions that we each brought to the table were a huge part of why we ended up getting promoted.’
‘There is so much more I could say about Deane and I am gutted to be losing him, but ultimately all I want to finish with is to wish him the very best with his new plans for the weekends – I am hoping that this will include some golf, because right now he sucks!’
The appointment of Mark Dickinson as the new assistant manager
‘I did not need to spend very long thinking about who I wanted to take over from Deane, because we already had the perfect replacement within the club. Mark will still be every bit the coach that I need, but he will now take on a bit more responsibility in some other areas.
This is just a natural progression for Dickie – he joined the club at the same time as I did, and he has proved himself to be a massive asset to this football club as well as to me personally. He sees the game better than most other people that I have come across in football, and like Deane was a fundamental part of our success last season.’
‘Dickie’s decision to commit to another year at the club is as important a signing as any that I could make on the pitch, so I am absolutely buzzing that he has agreed to take this step up.’
