Boss sets out Yeltz vision

New Halesowen boss Morell Maison today insisted his side can with the Southern League this season - and targeted a place in the Blue Square North as phase two of his plan.

And Maison delivered a clear message to Yeltz fans that he plans to deliver immediate success at The Grove.

Maison was named this week as successor to Martin O'Connor as the first stage of a proposed takeover at The Grove which is set to transform the management of the club.

Former Albion and Villa manager Ron Atkinson was due to be unveiled on Saturday afternoon as another member of the new-look backroom staff at the British Gas Business League side.

And Maison has wasted no time in spelling out his ambitious plans for the club.

He said: "I'm not here to hang about. I don't intend to be in this league for very long.

"I managed Kettering Town in the Conference North and that's where I want this club to be playing next season."

With just the champions promoted automatically to the second tier of the former Conference, the play-offs look the most likely route for a Halesowen promotion.

But Maison is refusing to write off his side's hopes of landing top spot, or to limit his ambitions to a single promotion.

He said: "I don't want to sound arrogant or disrespectful to the rest of this league, but why can't Halesowen win it?

"Can anyone tell me who is going to win the league?

"It looks to me like it is wide open, so why not us?

"When I went to Kettering they were in 14th place in the table with 13 matches to go and we finished one point outside the play-offs.

"I'm convinced if the chairman hadn't made the choice to change things we would be in the Conference now.

"I've arrived here and the club are in a better position than Kettering and with 24 matches left instead of 13 so there is far more time to get points on the board.

"So why can't we do it? When I was at Kettering we had a three-year plan to get into the Conference and the first objective here is to get into the Conference North and then try to push on into the Conference."

Maison began building his backroom team immediately with the signing of player-coach Darren Caskey on a three-year loan from Kettering.

His stay is likely to be extended and Maison is looking forward to working with the former Tottenham midfielder again.

He said: "Darren brings a great experience and a wealth of football knowledge and above all else he is still a quality player.

"He is working on his coaching badges and he will be good on the training field and the pitch.

"He never had any pace so he hasn't lost that, and he still reads the game superbly."