Kevin Christou
We are delighted to announce that we have appointed former Tring Athletic boss Kevin Christou as our new first team manager, with James Gibbs joining from Northwood as his assistant. We believed we needed to go for a a management team with far more experience within the pyramid to help Jets to get back on track.
We are also looking to make two further appointments to a coaching set-up that will continue to involve Jets stalwart Wayne Gladdy.
The new staff will take charge of their first game on Saturday when Jets visit Flackwell Heath.
The club needed “a fresh start” following the resignation of Stuart Atkins at the end of last month and we are delighted to have Kevin and James join us. John Elliott commented “We had over half a dozen very strong applications but in many cases I was concerned at the distance from the club they were from”.
“Kevin was in touch with me and supportive even when he knew I had partly reached agreement with another pairing, still offering us temporary help. I was more and more swaying Kevin’s way as I knew he had substantial experience and contacts in the Spartan Premier, and we need to make a 70 per cent rebuild”.
“Kevin fitted the role and we met on Saturday along with his choice of assistant James Gibbs who we instantly got on really well with, so it was very easy to say yes. Both understood the backbone of how the club operates in the local community whilst being a competitive step 5 club.”
It has been a very difficult few weeks for Jets who have been on the receiving end of some heavy defeats, having been forced to field makeshift teams after a number of players followed Atkins out of the exit door. With Kevin and James now joining us, however, we are looking forward to remodelling to a positive future.