Having
advertised the vacancy, the club was pleased to receive in excess of thirty
applications, many of which were extremely creditable.
However,
once Goddard initiated discussions for returning to the role, he became the
clear favourite.
With
his track record of achievements before and during his time as Alport manager, the
club felt it was an opportunity not to be missed.
Goddard
stepped down as joint manager in December 2019 after three-and-a-half years in
charge.
Goddard
guided Alport to their first Shropshire Senior Cup triumph in their 73-year
history by beating Shrewsbury Town at Montgomery Waters Meadow in September to
add to a fine trophy haul.
Co-chairman
Tony Rogers told https://www.whitchurchalport.com:
“Having worked closely with Luke in our roles as co-chairs, his passion and
drive for all things Alport shines through as strongly as ever. Finally, and of
great importance, our fans, I know, will be delighted to see Luke back in the
hot seat.
“We
wish Luke every success in his return to management."
Goddard
added on returning to the Yockings Park dug-out: “Firstly, I'm grateful for the
opportunity to be able to manage this great football team again, in what will
be a new start and journey once we are allowed to return.
“The
past six months have been very difficult, but off the field the club is in its
strongest position since I joined as manager originally four years ago.
“After
numerous discussions with Tony, I couldn’t not be attracted to returning as manager
and help the club push forward out of this current pandemic and unearth more
potential.
“It
is in agreement that I will solely manage the first team and with that I shall
relinquish all of my other roles at the club over the next few weeks. This is
to ensure that my complete focus is on the pitch just as it was when I first
joined”. |