Mold decision sees manager leave

Mold Alexandra’s decision to opt out of promotion to the Huws Gray Alliance has led to manager Dave Abraham tendering his resignation.

The club performed exceptionally well to finish second behind Chirk AAA in the Welsh National League Premier Division, six points ahead of both Hawarden Rangers in third and Gresford Athletic in fourth.

But the committee made the decision to opt out of promotion to the Huws Gray Cymru Alliance, the second tier of Welsh club football, based on the club’s current financial position, infrastructure and staff levels.

Chairman Barry Couchman indicated that there had been early contact from interested parties in the vacant managerial position, and a decision would be made on the succession at “the right time”.

He said: “We’ve had some calls and we will make a decision at the right time, whether that is a few weeks or a few days.

“Clearly some players will leave but that is football. Now we have to rebuild and that will start with pre-season.

“The club is strong, and we have a good youth setup in place now. Moving forward remains one of the club’s aims but it’s about doing it at the right time. Of course we would have liked promotion, but we have to think about the whole club and the position it is in.”

A lengthy statement from the committee highlighted all the work they had done and were planning to do for the club and the surrounding community, but stressed now wasn’t the right time to step up a level.

It said: “The management committee of Mold Alex have critically reviewed the readiness of the club to accept the promotion but, after a great deal of thought and discussion, took the very difficult decision not to do so.

“However, the committee are keen [to stress]that progression to The Cymru Alliance remains a target for the club, but that it should be at a time that finances, infrastructure and personnel are all sufficiently developed to both fully support a second tier senior side and deliver the ambitious development plans that the club is actively pursuing.

“As a result of the decision not to accept promotion to the Cymru Alliance League, [first] team manager Dave Abraham has resigned his position. We would like to thank the managers, coaches and players for their tremendous effort over the last two seasons, and recognise that they will be very disappointed, and that this is a very difficult position for them to accept.

“But, although this may initially be seen as a retrograde step, the decision was made in the best long term interests of the club.”