Samuel leads the search for new boss as Poppies seek a quick appointment

Club president Ken Samuel has been tasked with leading the search for the Poppies’ next permanent boss following the shock departure of Lee Glover over the bank holiday weekend.

Samuel will be conducting the hunt for his replacement on behalf of the club’s new management committee, which he is part of, as they continue the work of stabilising things at Latimer Park following owner Ritchie Jeune’s decision to step back from the day-to-day running.

A club stalwart and fan for a number of years, Samuel has pretty much seen it all from behind the scenes.

Now he has the task of identifying potential candidates to lead the Poppies into the Southern League Premier Central next season following their relegation from the Vanarama National League North.

Kettering officially advertised the role on Monday morning and Samuel reported that, in the space of 24 hours of the job being advertised, the interest was already high.

“We have had a couple of dozen already,” he said.

“I believe the job is still a draw and people have been saying in their applications that Kettering is a big non-League club and that’s lovely to hear. The name brings in some quality applications.

“In addition to that, I have been talking to people who might not have necessarily applied, as you do. Since the news hit, it has been hectic.

“I don’t make the final decision but, at the moment, I think we will be closing applications by the end of the week and hopefully interviewing over the weekend and early next week.

“We need a manager in place, that’s for sure.

“Lee has been quite happy to help out any new manager when they are appointed. I think he has information, which may help.

“And we are also keeping in contact with our players to keep them up to date with things.

“It’s all about trying to move forward and we do need a relatively quick appointment but we need it to be the right one.

“It’s the end of May and people will say we have friendlies starting at the beginning of July but the season doesn’t start until the beginning of August.

“There is that scramble for players towards the end of pre-season and, at Southern League level, it’s possibly a bit easier to get players in than it is in National League North.

“But we need a manager to enhance that and get his plans in place.”

When it comes to what type of manager Kettering would like, it seems the club is open-minded.

With the new management committee being driven, essentially, by supporters, Samuel insists the next boss will need to “buy into the culture” of the club.

There was no real criteria set by the Poppies when they put their advertisement for the job out there on Monday.

And it seems there was a method to the madness as they look for the “special individual” they want to fill the role.

Samuel added: “We’d like a manager who will buy into our culture.

“We are much more of a community club and we are being run by fans essentially.

“We want to involve the whole of the community and a lot of supporters have come forward to help out, which is fantastic.

“But the whole essence of this comes from what happens on the pitch. It’s key to have a capable manager to deal with that.

“In the job advert we set no criteria deliberately to see what came along.

“Obviously, we now have a mix of people who have applied with experience and people who are in jobs and want another job and people who aren’t in a job and want the job.

“We have all parts of the spectrum applying for the role.

“We want someone who will buy into the culture of the club now and who will get involved, not just in the first-team but in the academy and with the supporters.

“We need to move ahead as one so it has to be a special individual to undertake all that.

“And I am sure, from all of the names we have got, we will find them.”