New assistant Ian Varley admits he and manager Aslan Odev will do well to keep their jobs beyond this season.

The pair have taken charge of Sittingbourne following Nick Davis’ departure and have 11 more fixtures in Bostik South to negotiate after last night's 3-2 defeat by Ramsgate.

The next seven weeks will effectively serve as a trial period not only for the Bourne players but the management, too.

Varley said: “We’re just looking to finish the season strong. The manager’s only got it until the end of the season, the same as me, so we’ll do well to keep our jobs.

“We want to get as many points as possible. We can’t go down or up and it can be challenging to motivate the players in that situation.

“We had that conversation with the players last week and they’re playing for next season, playing for their futures.

“But everyone enjoys playing football – whether you’re mid-table or top – and it’s important we get back to winning as soon as possible.”

Varley had a short spell as manager of Rochester United in the Southern Counties East League earlier in the season.

He said: “It takes a while sometimes to get back in if you stay out too long. There were a couple of different jobs that came up but this one suited me. It’s a higher level and a club I’ve played for, so it was a no-brainer.

“It’s a role I’ve done at previous clubs and I’ve got experience of managing, so I’ve seen both sides of it, which always helps.

“Sometimes you get assistants who have only been assistants and can’t really understand the manager’s role.

“I’d like to think I can bring both sides to the table and help the manager.

"He’s young and it’s his first job, so we had a good chat about it and said we’ll work together and see how we get on for the rest of the season.

“Being a manager, you’re accountable for everything, which I quite enjoy, and being assistant manager you’re not really accountable for anything, which is also enjoyable.

“You have an impact as assistant manager but everything falls on the manager. That’s how football works but I’ll help as much as possible.”

Brickies visit Guernsey on Saturday. Kick-off in the Channel Islands is 2pm.