Neil Tooth eager to stabilise Hednesford Town

The former Sutton Coldfield Town chief took charge of the Pitmen following Gary Birch’s departure due to work commitments – and subsequent unveiling as Walsall Wood boss, three divisions below.

He is the seventh man to be in the hotseat in less than two years, after Rob Smith, Bernard McNally, Frank Sinclair, Liam McDonald, Paul Casey and Birch.

During that time, Hednesford were relegated from National League North and then, despite initial signs of promise, failed to live up to expectation in the Evo-Stik Premier and finished 15th of 24 teams.

Tooth, along with assistant Phil Male and first-team coaches Andy Ling and Kris Taylor, is determined to put smiles back on the faces of fans who have been left disenchanted and said: “That was one of the main things about coming here, bringing stability.

“We know what the division is about and we know we can bring the feel-good times back to the club, we are all experienced.”

The Pitmen have frozen their season ticket prices for the 2017/18 season.

They are priced at £209 for terrace season tickets while season tickets for the Main Stand are £228. The club said that equates to four games free of charge across the season.

Tooth knows to bring back those fans who may have lost interest, a great team spirit is needed which, hopefully, can translate to results.

“It’s not an easy league to get out of, that’s for sure, but Hednesford should be up there and challenging,” he said.

“Rob (Smith) and (his assistant) Larry (Chambers) had a good spine to the team and a good spirit to the team when they were here.

“Last season started well under Liam McDonald before he left for Solihull Moors so for it to end the way it did was a massive disappointment for everybody involved.

“I am confident I can come here and bring stability.

“I’ve done my apprenticeship, if you like, in this league with Sutton Coldfield and I am really grateful for the opportunity at this great club.”

In terms of shaping his squad, Tooth is making plenty of calls and things should become clearer over the coming weeks – although captain Tom Thorley has already committed to the club, long-serving goalkeeper Dan Crane departed and defender Jimmy Mutton returned.

“We see this is a long-term thing, we want to put in the foundations to be able to build, year on year,” he said. “I’ve spent time speaking to the remaining players, and I have put out some feelers for a few potential new players as well.

“I have spoke to last season’s squad first and maybe a few of them can show the fans what they really are about.

“Hopefully with a good pre-season under their belts, a few can come back in and start again – a clean slate.

“We want to bring a feel-good factor to the club again.”