Workington Reds are looking for a coach/manager to run the club’s Development side next season.
Current manager Brian Dawson, and his assistant Craig Routledge are moving to take the reins at North West Counties League side Cleator Moor Celtic next season.
Dawson, however, will continue to run the hugely successful Reds In the Community programme which continues to go from strength to strength.
Richard Lewthwaite, newest member of the Reds board after stepping up from associate director has revealed that the Development squad was one of the first things discussed with Danny Grainger when he was reappointed manager last week.
He said: “It will continue next season and we are looking for a coach/manager currently. There are some fantastic players in this squad and the key here is retaining them and making them ready for first team football. There will be comings and goings, thats football but our pathway will be maintained.”
Discussing Brian Dawson’s RITC/Academy (as some call it) Lewthwaite says it has players from Foundation Stage (boys and girls) right through to Under-18s.
He said: “Those players are being coached in the way we want to play going forward and have been since the beginning.
“From Under-13s through to Under-16s we have had teams playing in the JPL this season where they play other senior clubs in Lancashire and Cheshire week in week out, the likes of Chorley, Atherton etc.
“There quite simply is nowhere better for our youngsters to test themselves outside Pro Academies. Next season our current Under-16s will move to Under-18s at this level.
“It’s a work in progress but imagine in four years time the younger ones will have followed the JPL path right through benefitting from that development against stronger sides week in week out. Exciting times ahead.
“We also still have our links with Reds Juniors in the Grassroots game and this year we have built on this building relationships with many other Grassroots clubs and Schools through our Summer Tournaments and our Mascot Scheme as well as the ‘free ticket’ scheme (currently 3,500 have been given out with 2,500 more to go before next season).
“We are developing the future generations of supporters too!”
