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Margate have signed a dream team of famous names who will form a new-look management team at Hartsdown Park.

Barry Ashby has been appointed first team manager. Ashby, a defender during his playing career, made nearly 300 hundred appearances for Gillingham, and also played for Watford and Brentford.

Paul Smith, whose playing career spans almost two decades, has joined the team as a player/coach. The midfielder enjoyed a lengthy spell at Gillingham, during which he captained the side and was also named player of the year four times.

Welsh goalkeeping legend Neville Southall arrives as the club’s new football development officer. Southall lifted both the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup during his time at Everton, and also won over 90 caps on the international stage.

Mark Weatherley will be Margate’s new football community officer, while Luigi Scott retains the role of chairman of the youth section.

A statement issued by the club read: “The club has wasted two years spending money it does not have, attempting to return to the Football Conference and must now restructure its foundations.

“We must build a team who will remain with us and be good enough to progress through the leagues. In order to achieve success we must seek to invest in a strong management team who are committed to the long term future of our club.”

The club is now hoping to appoint a director of football. The Kent Messenger Group understands that a former international manager is being lined up for the job, although negotiations were continuing on Friday.

Tom McKenna, acting chairman of Margate Independent Supporters Association, said: “I watched my first game at Hartsdown Park in 1957 and I feel this is one of the best set-ups in many, many years.

“The new management want the club to move forward and we should see a good number of young footballers coming through.

“We’ll have a side which the younger players want to stick with for more than one season.”

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For more from Tom McKenna on why he is supporting the appointments, click on the audio link at the top of this page.
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Meanwhile, former chairman Malcolm Rowlett, who resigned from the club’s board of directors earlier this week, has been asked to reconsider his position. Alan Bown has also been invited to remain in the honorary position of president.

The new management team are due to be presented at an open evening at Hartsdown Park on Tuesday.