Fisher begin the search for a new manager while Ian Varley takes charge at Holmesdale

FISHER begin the search for a new manager after Dean Harrison quit the club at 19:25 on Tuesday night.

The club finished their Southern Counties East Football League campaign in the bottom three last season but Harrison’s departure from the club was for off-the-field matters rather than on it.

Fisher have left Dulwich Hamlet’s Champion Hill ground and are hopeful of moving in to the new ground at Salter Road in Rotherhithe in time for the new season, which kicks off on 6 August 2016.

A club spokesman said today: “The club is in buoyant mood and we’re very much looking forward to the future and the opening of our new ground.

“We’ve had very positive and constructive meetings with Southwark Council of late and they’ve extended every resource to ensure Fisher can return home in time for the new season.

“At present we are gearing up for a test fixture on Saturday 30^th July. This is set to be a low key affair on council instructions and will most probably be an invitation only event.

“We are currently finalising the official opening of the ground which will most probably be played on Sunday 7^th August and will be billed as a community event. We are still determining the opposition for both games.

“Looking back it’s been a big uphill struggle over the last seven years since we reformed as supporters owned. Everyone involved works on a voluntary basis from the chairman down. This last year in particular has been a real battle where we’ve suffered depleted numbers and needed the help of kind donations in order to stay afloat.

“However, its now a great time to get involved in the club, we’ve had a much needed injection of talent come into the membership and onto the board. The numbers are beginning to swell and we’re generating a huge amount of interest again. People are looking forward to Fisher’s return home and we need to harness that good will and build a positive future for the club based on sustainability and close community links.  

“We’re in it for the long term but it will be a steep learning curve for the club as we now have a first class facility to care for and commercial activity to generate through pitch lettings, function suite usage and various advertising opportunities that we now have at our disposal. It will be a far cry from our days at Dulwich Hamlet who in fairness were an excellent landlord but without a ground of our own we could never truly build up the club.

“Now we have a fantastic opportunity to turn Fisher into something very special indeed. We’re looking to build on our charity links, increase our youth teams and host regular soccer schools.

“We need a new manager to buy into the club’s ethos and take an interest in the club as a whole and not just the first team. We have a good core group of players who understand what the club are trying to achieve.

“Our squad have stuck together and shown loyalty. We will return that show of faith and the new manager needs to build on and harness the team’s ability without making wholesale changes.

“The senior players will be taking training and managing pre-season themselves which means we are in no rush and we want to make the right appointment. The new manager should be interested in a long term challenge, a chance to build the club up from the foundations as we embark on this promising new era at our new stadium.

“It’s exciting times but money remains tight so applicants looking for quick fixes and generous budgets need not apply.”   

Interested applicants should email secretary.fisherfc@yahoo.com.

Meanwhile, Holmesdale, who were relegated from the Southern Counties East Football League after finishing bottom of the table, have appointed Ian Varley as manager after Simon Copley quit the Bromley based club after taking a full-time coaching role at Premier League giants Arsenal.

Copley and Varley were installed as Holmesdale’s new management team on 7 May 2016 after winning a cup double for Glebe despite being sacked after a third-placed finish in the Kent Invicta League, which is now the SCEFL First Division.

Copley left the club before taking charge of a game.

Visit Fisher’s website: www.fisherfc.org