AFTER guiding Horley Town to Combined Counties League safety this season, Anthony Jupp and Chris Weller have agreed to take on the first team on a permanent basis for 2014-15.
After the departure of former boss Trevor Smith, Jupp and Weller, both Horley Town players, took on the management of the first team alongside their role as joint-managers of the club's U18 side.
The pair decided the workload of managing two sides was impossible and they would have to choose between the teams this summer, and while most would jump at the chance to progress from managing a youth side to first team, Jupp admitted leaving the U18s was "gutting".
"It was a really hard decision to leave the youth team but we couldn't do both sides," Jupp said. "Chris and I decided that if we could get the right people in to manage the youth side then we would feel a lot better about it.
"Barry Mountain has been with the club a long time as a player and he's a real Horley Town man, and then Sean Branton is going to step up from the U16s as well.
"I think we are leaving the youth team in safe hands but it's gutting after being with them since they were 11-year-olds.
"It's a great opportunity to manage the first team, but for us, the first team is only as strong as the team behind it, and with no reserves, that's the youth team.
"They are a really strong side and the future of the football club. I don't want to put pressure on Barry and Sean, but I expect them to win stuff."
Horley just avoided relegation from the Premier Division last season and Jupp, who will sign playing forms in case of "emergency", is keen to stay clear of the bottom three this time around.
"I don't want to be in a relegation battle and I'm hoping we are clear of the bottom three after Christmas," Jupp said.
"With Chertsey and Guildford coming down, and Spelthorne coming up, I think it will be a really strong league next season.
"A mid-table finish would be good for us for a first season while we are rebuilding."
