Hollands & Blair re-appoint Clint Gooding after parting company with Luke Jessup after 31 games in charge of Gillingham based club

HOLLANDS & BLAIR chairman Paul Piggott has re-appointed Clint Gooding as their new manager yesterday morning.

Piggott was in charge of a 2-0 home win against Rusthall and a 5-2 defeat at Bearsted after parting company with Luke Jessup on Wednesday 25 September.

“We are grateful to Luke for stepping up as both an interim and eventually permanent manager from his role as reserve team manager at the club,” said a club statement.

“We felt at the time that it was right to promote from within but unfortunately it hasn’t worked out as we all hoped.

“This decision was not made lightly and we would like to place on record or gratitude to Luke for his time, commitment and effort during his tenure at the helm of both our reserves and (first) team.

“The club would also like to thank Aaron Lacy and Luke Hewitt  for their commitment and effort during this period.

“We wish Luke all the very best in future endeavours and with his other Hollands & Blair commitments and Aaron and Luke also.”

Jessup was in charge for 31 games, where he won nine, drew six and lost 16 in all competitions, with a win ratio of 29 percent.

Gooding takes charge for tomorrow’s home Kent Senior Trophy tie against fourth-placed side Holmesdale.

Gooding has appointed Steve Whitton as his assistant manager at the Darland Avenue outfit.

“The club would like to place on record our thanks to all the applications received in the last couple of weeks,” added the statement.

“Clint is no stranger to the club although the surroundings at Star Meadow have certainly changed.

“He was previously assistant manager to Paul Piggott at Blair – leaving at the end of the 2015-16 season when Piggott stepped down and later followed Piggott to Chatham Town as assistant manager in November 2016.

“In December 2017 he took over from Bryan Greenfield as Hollands & Blair manager – the club were rooted to the bottom of the table, without a win with just two points from 18 games.

“But in May 2018 Clint stepped down as Blair boss after 24 games in charge (winning nine, drawing two) afer the club had pulled off the great escape in avoiding relegation.

“After leaving Blair, Clint was heavily involved in coaching youth football at Maidstone United and Sittingbourne.

“In May 2022 he was named first-team coach at Sittingbourne, alongside Steve Whitton, under Nick Davis, but decided to leave shortly after Davis parted company with the Brickies.

“The pair had been put in temporary charge when Sittingbourne lost 2-0 at home to Whitehawk on 7 January 2023.

“His son Finlay made a total of four substitute appearances for Blair under Scott Porter in 2023-24.”

Gooding played for Gravesend & Northfleet (Ebbsfleet United in today’s money), Tonbridge Angels, Lordswood, Sittingbourne, Whitstable Town, Woodstock Park (where he was player-manager) and Hollands & Blair.

The Gillingham based outfit are in the bottom four (seventeenth) in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division table, having picked up three wins and a draw from their opening 11 games.

Lydd Town, Rusthall and Kennington are beneath them in the ninth-tier league table, all on eight points, with two club’s suffering from relegation at the end of the season.

Visit Hollands & Blair’s website: www.hollandsandblair.co.uk