Heathcote to stay at Alty

2:45pm Monday 5th May 2008

Comments (3)   Have your say »

GRAHAM Heathcote is set to stay on as Altrincham manager despite the club's relegation from the Blue Square Premier.

After meeting with the club's board today, Heathcote agreed to continue in the job no matter what division Alty find themselves in next season.

There had been call for change from some fans after another difficult campaign in non-league football's top flight had ended in disappointment.

But the board have reiterated their confidence in Heathcote as the right man to lead the club forward.

The decision had been in Heathcote's hands after chairman Geoff Goodwin said last week that the club would continue to back the Robins boss.

And despite some original doubts over whether he would step down or not, the 53-year-old has decided to stay on.

A statement issued by the board read: "The board confirmed their plans to continue to develop Altrincham FC as a community club, aiming to play in the highest league that we can afford, and will continue to work and develop the Altrincham FC Juniors link.

"The board paid tribute to the work carried out by Graham Heathcote in putting out a team which has overachieved against clubs with more significant financial resources.

"Geoff Goodwin (chairman), and Graham Heathcote have been a very successful team in developing and stabilising the club over the last five years and are committed to continuing to work together for the foreseeable future."