Hinckley AFC have reluctantly accepted the resignation of Joe Conneely as first team manager this evening.
Conneely first joined as Courtney Belford’s assistant in 2020 and has been with the club ever since, spending over five years at Hinckley AFC and taking charge of more than 200 games as either manager or assistant. His backroom team, Sam Belcher and Alfie Marsden, will also step down.
Conneely took over as manager after Belford left in the summer of 2022, and the duo were re-united at the helm a few months later, he went solo again in August last year.
During that time, he oversaw Midland League Cup success and the Midland League Division One title, and stabilised the club at step five with a top-half finish in our debut season.
Hinckley AFC Chairman, Bryan White, said: “We are sorry that Joe has decided to leave, but we respect his reasons for the decision, and we thank him for everything he has done and achieved with our club.
“The board will be making appropriate arrangements in the coming days to ensure continuity and to approach this season positively.”
In total, Joe leaves having been manager or assistant for 210 games at Hinckley AFC, with 131 of those ending in victory at a win rate higher than 62%. The team scored over 600 goals during that time, at just shy of three per game on average.
He was the longest-serving member of management staff in the club’s 11-year history.
Conneely said: “I feel like I’ve taken this job as far as I can, so it’s the right time to step away. I’ve had a feeling about this for a few days and you should always go with your gut.
“I’m gutted, and I love the club, but I’ve left on brilliant terms having shaken hands with the Board tonight.
“When you leave a club, you just want to leave it in a better place than you found it and I feel like I’ve definitely done that.
“I want to thank everyone at the club – all the players, staff, fans, volunteers and the Board of Directors, who backed me and put their trust in a young manager.”
We will have more from Joe in his final message to the supporters tomorrow.
Thank you for everything, Joe, and best of luck for the future.
