Hollands & Blair will have their new manager in the dugout this weekend.

Chairman and interim boss Paul Piggott said this week they were speeding up the selection process and have appointed Clint Gooding as manager.

Gooding comes in as a replacement for Luke Jessup, who left the club after a poor start to the campaign.

Piggott had stepped in to manage the side on a caretaker basis – initially happy without a timeframe on getting a new manager in – but last weekend’s 5-2 loss against Bearsted was an indicator that they needed to get someone in sharpish.

Gooding has previously been assistant manager at both Blair and Chatham Town under Piggott. He managed Hollands & Blair for a short spell from December 2017, guiding the team to safety after taking over when they were bottom of the table.

He’s since coached at Maidstone and Sittingbourne.

Speaking before Gooding’s appointment, Piggott said: “The one thing that Saturday did prove was that people in football don't like uncertainty, especially players.

“The performance and the attitude was a bit flat.

“I don't want to make excuses for players, but they don't like it, they don't like uncertainty and I think that showed and that has sort of prompted us really to move quicker than we wanted to.”

The club’s committee met on Tuesday and agreed that Gooding was the right man for the job - bringing in Steve Whitton as his assistant.

He’ll take charge with immediate effect.

Blair were down to 15 players for the weekend fixture, drafting in reserves and under-23s, while handing a debut to Eri Akintimehin, who had a hand in both of their goals.

Charlie Weston netted after the Bears had already scored three and Harvey Welford netted a stoppage-time consolation.

Defeat left Blair sitting fourth from bottom in the SCEFL Premier Division with 11 games played.

Southern Counties East Premier Division table

They host Holmesdale this Saturday in the Kent Senior Trophy - the last chance they have to make a mark in a cup competition this season - before welcoming Corinthian to Star Meadow on Tuesday night.

“Saturday was just flat,” Piggott said.

“We could tell from the outset that we didn't have the same buzz as we had the week before.

“There wasn’t the same spring in the step and you only have to be five per cent down on your effort and focus and you'll get beat. We got punished quite early from a couple of mistakes and there was no looking back from there really.

“We huffed and puffed a bit, but not enough to win the game, nowhere near it.”

Newcomer Akintimehin - who started the season at Phoenix Sports - had been signed by former boss Jessup, just before he departed, but wasn’t aware of the change of management so he attended training and had a positive impact in the game.

“He looked alright,” said interim boss Piggott. “We started him and he did well for us.

“He's a player that wants the ball and makes things happen.

“We just probably didn't get him the ball enough to see the best of him but we saw enough in the 90 minutes that he's got something to give the team, that's for sure.”

Looking ahead to this weekend, Piggott said: “Cup competitions are something that you want to keep in, which goes without saying. It keeps the season going longer. It brings hope for supporters and committees. That hope of getting to a final is great.

“It's the last one and bearing in mind where we are in the table at the moment, it will help to keep our season alive. It's not dead yet. We're not saying it's dead but it just gives you a little bit more hope to build on for the rest of the season.”