Manager Appointed
Hinckley AFC are delighted to announce the appointment of Carl Abbott as first team manager.
Carl, 33, on the right of the picture, joins the 
club from Wolverhampton Casuals, in the West Midlands Premier League at step six of the non-league system. He will also bring his assistant Kevin Thompson, on the left, to the club.
Carl said ‘Hinckley AFC was a massive opportunity. It came out of the blue. I think we were looking at next season, and it looked likely that we would have another go where we were.
‘I think we’ve achieved quite a lot. We’ve got a very, very good side there. Whether that side would break up next season I’m not sure.
‘Then we got the opportunity at Hinckley. It’s a massive football club. Hand on heart, it’s probably an opportunity that wouldn’t have come up if the old club hadn’t fallen on hard times. We want to play our part in taking the club forward again.
‘We understand what the task is at hand and what the expectancy will be, but I just feel that it’s the right management team at the right club at the right time.’
After taking charge at Christmas in 2010, with the Cassies 19th in the table, Carl guided the side to a tenth place finish.
In his two previous full seasons in charge, the side have finished third, and with one game to play in this campaign they lie in fourth place on 95 points, having won 30 of their 41 matches.
Carl has managed to assemble a highly talented squad, including some young players with great potential alongside ex-professionals such as JJ Melligan, Avun Jephcott and Matt Bailey.
Spokesman for the Hinckley AFC working group, Russ Abbott, said the task for selecting the club’s first manager was difficult. ‘The calibre of candidates was very high. We wanted to make sure that whoever was offered the job would be here for the long term.
‘Carl’s enthusiasm and passion shone through during the interview. As soon as he left the room, we knew he was the man we wanted to take the club forward.’
Carl and chairman Gary Hancox will be on BBC Radio Leicester tonight, from 6-30pm on the non-league football show.
The next public consultation meeting will be held on Monday, 19th May at the Clarendon Club, Coventry Road, at 7-30pm, where Carl and hopefully the club’s first two signings will be present.
