Littlehampton Town reveal good news for fans on management and player front

Littlehampton Town said thet were delighted to confirm the joint managers would continue in their roles. After guiding the Golds to an historic FA Vase final and promotion to the Isthmian League two years ago, Gaskin and Hand will now plan for a third season at step four – in a division which will have eight Sussex clubs and is bound to be ultra-competitive.

“It was a no brainer for us,” Gaskin told the LTFC website. “Everyone knows how we feel about the club and as we’ve both been players and managers for over 10 years, it feels like we’re just getting started.

“It’s taken a couple of seasons to establish ourselves, but thanks to the support of the chairman and the hard work of the committee, there’s nowhere else we’d rather be.”Gaskin and Hand started their second stint as managers of Littlehampton Town in July 2021 and, including friendlies, have overseen a total of 178 games.

In 2022 the duo memorably took Littlehampton Town to Wembley Stadium for the FA Vase final, which they lost to Newport Pagnell, and secured promotion to the Isthmian League south east division. The pair have guided the Marigolds to safety in the team’s second year at this level and are looking forward to making plans for the new campaign that gets under way in August.

Don’t miss this coming week’s Littlehampton Gazette for a special feature on the demolition of the old main stand and imminent construction of its replacement

“We were asked to consolidate while the club made the necessary changes to the changing rooms and the new grandstand, but now the infrastructure has been upgraded it’s our job to help move us on as a club on the field now,” said Hand.

“We’ve already started working on how we can improve things and the recent presentation evening gave us the opportunity to say thank you to all the supporters for their backing throughout the year. The new season is one we are looking forward to and we can’t wait for it to get started.”Littlehampton Town finished their second season in the Isthmian League in 17th place. Off the field, their 100-year-old grandstand has been demolished to make way for a new all-seater structure with part of the finance coming from fundraising initiatives from fans.Littlehampton Town chairman Rob McAlees has been delighted with progress off the field and welcomed the continuity of the management team. “I’ve known George and Mitch for a long time now and I can think of no better duo to continue to lead Littlehampton Town as we embark on our third season in the Isthmian League.

"It hasn’t been easy as we’ve had to focus on the redevelopment of the Sportfield but with our new stand in the process of going up, I’m delighted that we can now start to make plans on the field and I’ve every confidence that George and Mitch will do the whole club proud in the 2024/25 season.”

Meanwhile midfield duo Josh Short and Jordan Layton have signed with the Golds for the new season.

Town have started to put their squad together for the new season and are delighted to confirm Short and club captain Layton are the first to commit.

Short joined the Golds when they first won promotion two years ago and has scored 11 goals in the league during his stint at the club – including at Sittingbourne at the final game of the season. He recently won the Players’ Player and Mangers’ Player of the Year awards.

“Josh is manager’s dream, a player who I believe would get in any side in the league and he’s growing in confidence with every year. We’re delighted that he’s sticking around for third campaign at this level,” said joint boss Hand.

Layton has been with the Marigolds for five seasons now and Hand was full of praise for the tough-tackling midfielder. “Loyalty is a rare commodity at our level of football,” added Hand.

“Jordan is consistently one of the first names on the team sheet and a player who’s turned into a real leader for the group. Jordan is one of those players who puts his body on the line for the cause and another we’re delighted to be keeping hold of.”

Pre-season friendlies are being drawn up. Expect news of those fixtures and further squad announcements will come soon.