Colbran keen to return to football after tough season at Peacehaven

Recently departed Peacehaven manager Simon Colbran endured a torrid season results-wise with the Magpies this season but is keen to get back involved with the sport.

Following a managerial change in the early months of the season, Colbran took up the reins at Peacehaven but was bereft of any meaningful playing budget and lost the majority of his squad early in the season as they moved to Lewes FC.

After bringing in his own squad of players, Colbran was then told that the playing budget was set to be halved - leading to a hefty player turnover.

Mid way through the season, in an attempt to bring in some fresh faces, the club held open trials and even though some promising players were found it wasn’t sufficient to bring about positive results on the pitch.

Although there are currently no offers on the table for the former Eastbourne Borough manager, Colbran is keen to stay in the game;

“I’m looking for the right opportunity at the moment. I’m not going to just take anything that comes along if it isn’t right for me. I’d happily take a position in a lesser role than a manager if there’s signs of good progress.”

The insurmountable task of keeping Peacehaven up this season was evident by the sheer lack of money that was available to him, with Colbran citing it as an ‘impossible task’ to avoid the drop.

“To put our budget into some perspective, we would often play teams who had one player earning more than our entire squad! Playing teams with ten times our budget was a regular occurrence.”

Despite the relegation, Colbran always conducted himself professionally and the experienced manager hopes potential employers will look beyond the results;

“Hopefully people will see why I stayed and that we were always competitive. I’m a man of my word and along with helping keep the club alive I wanted to stay at the club until the season was done.”

Calling the players a ‘credit to the club’ for their passionate performances, the Magpies managed to net in 34 of their 46 league games – reinforcing the former manager’s statement that the team always gave it their all.

Away from all the off-the-field issues, the team did manage to pull of some impressive wins this season: winning at home to fifth placed Haversham Town and securing three points away at fourth placed Hythe Town.

Following their relegation the club will now look towards life next season in the Isthmian League Division One South, the eight tier of English football, as their search for a new manager continues.