DEAL TOWN FC have appointed reserve team boss Derek Hares as their new first team manager.

After interviewing Hares and former Deal player Mark Seager last week, the club’s chairman-elect David Saunders and his committee decided that Hares was the man to fill the gap left by Simon Bryant’s departure to Herne Bay.

“Derek and Mark were both excellent candidates, but in the end we decided that Derek had the better credentials,” Saunders said. “In particular, we were impressed by his apparent man-management skills, and by the team spirit he has fostered within the Reserves and the success they have enjoyed this season.”

Hares, who lives at Finglesham, has led the Reserves to two trophies this season, the Kent League Division One championship and the Kent Intermediate Cup and has extensive contacts in local football after managing teams in this area for 20 years.

He said: What more could you want than to be manager of your hometown team? I am really delighted to have got the job and, to be honest, it’s something I have thought about for a long time."