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Cheltenham Town Ladies boss Tom Davies turning full-time for 2023/24
Cheltenham Town Ladies manager Tom Davies’ role will be made full-time for the 2023/24 campaign.
Chairman Andy Liddle says the decision has been made to allow Davies more time to recruit, induct, retain and develop players at the ambitious Women’s National League Southern Premier Division club.
They have just completed their debut season in the third tier, finishing eighth and Liddle says this is the next logical step in their development.
“As we have risen from tier five to mid-table in tier three, the landscape for the women’s game has also changed, growing massively in popularity and professionalism,” Liddle said.
“As our model moves more towards full-time, it is right and proper that Tom, the key driver behind our recent success, is the first to step up.
“Knowing Tom as I do, no stone will be left unturned as we look to work closer with youth, our reserves and development sides.”
There will also be a commercial element to Davies’ role: “Tom is also passionate about delivering a better match day experience, including fan engagement, and was instrumental with our mascot initiatives last season,” Liddle said.
“To complete the circle, there will be a small element of ensuring our commercial partners share in our success. As we look to move ever forward in a sustainable manner, there is always room for further talent to deliver projects in bite size pieces.”
Davies took over as manager in May 2020, succeeding Alex Cheal in the role. He had previously coached at Stoke City Ladies and Wolves Women before initially joining Cheltenham in a coaching capacity in June 2019.
He now becomes the club’s first full-time manager.
“This is a huge step for the club and one that I’m delighted to have been entrusted with,” Davies said.
“Over the last couple of seasons, we’ve worked tirelessly to develop so many things on and off the field to afford us the position we find ourselves in now.
“We recognise that the next steps are challenging but with a clear vision and plan for the club and the players within it, we’re confident that we can continue the progression we’ve made over recent seasons.”
Turning full-time is something Davies has been working towards since starting out on his coaching journey.
“It’s been something that I’ve worked towards for a large number of years now and something that myself and my family are really proud that I’ve been able to achieve,” he said.
“I’m excited to get going and thankful to Andy for believing in myself and the club as we take this next step in our journey.
“The role provides me the time and energy to spend with the players and staff, who are the priority and then to make sure that we continue to develop their experiences, engagement within the local community and sustainability for the future of the club and the ambitions we have.”
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/6SSZWWDHTVH6PDSV5HM34ZNT5Q.JPG "Dillon Corkery wins Rás Tailteann with dramatic final day attack – The Irish Times")
