Jon Taylor will remain in the post of manager and will be entering his fifth season at the helm and wishes to continue to stride the club forward.

Since becoming an owner of the club, Taylor has also had to deal with the organisation and promotion of the club off the field.

Pressures surrounding this role have led to his wish to share responsibilities, and former Luton Town goalkeeper Nathan Abbey has agreed to set up to join Taylor as joint manager for the coming season.

Speaking to www.bedfordeagles.net, Abbey commented: “After a successful 2018/19 campaign where the football club reached the play-off semi-finals, I'm delighted to step up to the role of joint manager with the Jon Taylor. After assisting throughout last season, implementing some fresh ideas which Jon took on board, we worked very well bouncing thoughts off each other and fully respected each other's views, with Jon having the final say.

“Jon has offered me the opportunity to step up even further, to have more of a say and work even closer with him making key decisions that gets results on the football pitch. This was an offer that I couldn't refuse and I'm now looking forward to helping in our quest to go one step further and building on last year’s progression. We have already been working tirelessly in the close season to improve our squad from last year, and I believe we are getting closer week by week in achieving a competitive squad that can mount a good challenge for the title.”

Also returning for the coming season will be fitness coache Gil Octave and goalkeeper coach Brian Mapley.

Both have been working as part of Taylor’s team for a number of years.

Two members that are not returning next year are Gordon Boateng and Darren Sarll.

Boateng worked closely with the Eagles last year as a performance analyst but has taken the decision to review offers for management at other clubs.

Sarll, who was involved on an informal base with coaching last season, has successfully been appointed to the role of manager at Motorama National League side Yeovil Town.

Taylor said: “I’m delighted that Nathan has agreed to step up and help with the day to day running of the side. Being an owner and manager comes with certain pressures, and hopefully we can work together to produce the best results on the field.”

Taylor continued “Being able to utilise Nathan’s football league experience, having played over 350 games in total over the years, is a massive knowledge. Along with Gil and Brian, we have a management team that is committed to achieving promotion and look forward to the preseason schedule we have set up”.

James Smiles