Hinckley AFC are delighted that Courtney Belford has returned to the club as assistant manager to Joe Conneely.
Belford was manager and Conneely assistant for the past two seasons, including the campaign that saw Hinckley reach the play-off final last term.
He was forced to step down in the summer due to work commitments, but a change in circumstance means he is now able to re-join the club.
He said: “I don’t feel like I properly left, I spoke to Joe all the time. My goalkeeping business situation changed, meaning I’ve got more flexibility to move evenings around so having the opportunity came up.
“Hinckley’s my club, it’s home for me really. It’s exciting to be back. I’ve tried to show my face down at a few games.
“A lot of the lads I know from last season, the club and people I know, but it’s exciting to work with new players and get ideas across too.”
In total, Belford took charge of 90 games during his first spell with the club, winning 55 of them and scoring 252 goals. Since Conneely became part of his staff in the summer of 2020, 41 of the 60 matches they took charge of ended in victory.
And Conneely’s delighted to get the band back together.
He said: “It’s great to have Courtney back at the club. We worked well together, and the club was at its best last season when we were together.
“Over the last two seasons, 99% of our decisions were joint ones. We bounce off each other well and we know what we want from each other.”
Courtney’s first game back will be on Saturday when we travel to Belper United in the FA Vase second round.
Welcome home, Courtney!
