Akurang couldn't wait for winning start

New Heybridge Swifts manager Cliff Akurang got off to a winning start in Ryman North on Saturday hours after telling the club's fans that he couldn't wait to make his managerial debut and start turning their season around.

Akurang was unveiled as Keith Wilson's successor at Scraley Road on Thursday and guided Swifts to a 1-0 win at Chatham Town, the victory lifting them to fourth from bottom and within a point of their hosts and safety.

The 33-year-old left Maldon & Titpree where'd he been coaching and will continue to play after a Non-League career that has taken in Thurrock, Hitchin Town, Braintree, Chelmsford City, Bishop`s Stortford, Histon and Boreham Wood. In the Football League, he played for Barnet and helped Dagenham & Redbridge win promotion from the Football Conference.

In the interview with Radio Swifts, veteran striker said: "I've always expected I might get a job where a club isn't doing very well and needs turning around. They've come to me and I'm raring to go.

"I think from sitting down and talking with everyone, we realised we all clicked and were all on the same wavelength and shared the same vision. They feel I am the right person to make it happen and I feel that they are the right people to back me. The first impressions I got are really good."

Akurang, who began the campaign at Leiston combining a playing role with coaching after leaving Bishop's Stortford in the summer, added: "In this league anyone can beat anyone and we're not dead and buried. Win a few games and it can take you up to mid table. It just depends on the state of mind the players are in and can they turn it around.

"With a new manager coming in there is normally an improvement and then it is a case of can they sustain it and push up the table as high as they can go. It comes down to concentrating and being organised."

Heybridge Swifts chairman Nick Bowyer is confident that Akurang will lead the side away from the relegation zone.

Bowyer, pictured alongside Akurang, told the club's website: "I was very impressed by Cliff’s technical knowledge and his experience in developing young players. His talent and modern outlook will be a fantastic asset to our football club."

Image courtesy of www.heybridgeswiftspics.com

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