No hard feelings after manager resigns Garstang FC position

After a little more than two years in charge at the Riverside, Cookney left his position in the wake of last Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat against Cleator Moor Celtic.

That left his assistant, Andrew Forsyth, as well as players Joe Noblet and Zach Clark, taking charge of last Saturday’s 3-2 loss at Pilkington, after which Forsyth also announced his exit.

The club’s statement announcing Cookney’s departure said his resignation had been accepted ‘reluctantly’ with the club sitting lower mid-table in the NWCFL First Division North.

Though disappointed at how his time in charge ultimately panned out, Cookney outlined his gratitude at having been the Riversiders’ boss.

He said: “I’ve been told that we might have gone a couple of steps forward and a couple of steps back at times, but the club’s in a better position now.

“That’s thanks enough for me. I haven’t left on bad terms and there aren’t any bad feelings.

“They have said I’m always welcome back there, and though I might get back into football at some point, I want to have a break until the end of the season and get my thoughts together.

“I’ve got a young family and I realised I got involved with coaching 13 years ago, which is a long time.

“I might not get to this stage again but I’ll always thank Garstang for giving me the opportunity to coach at North West Counties level.

“I’ve got to manage in the FA Vase for three years on the bounce, we’ve come up against big clubs like Bury and the people at Garstang are great – it’s a great club with great people behind the scenes.”

For its part, the club has confirmed Clark and Noblet will remain as acting managers while the club begins the process of identifying Cookney’s successor.

The Riversiders have set a deadline of November 12 for applications with interviews taking place on November 14 and 15.

That means Clark and Noblet have at least three more games in temporary charge with the Riversiders at South Liverpool this Saturday before back-to-back home games against Chadderton (November 10) and Bacup Borough (November 13).

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