Vance named Island caretaker manager
TONY VANCE is back as Island manager – as caretaker for the rest of the season.
He is stepping into the position recently vacated by Chris Tardif and he will be assisted by another former Muratti boss, his Guernsey FC colleague Colin Fallaize.
‘To be honest, it is not something Fal or myself were looking to do but when we were approached by the GFA board, and given the circumstances, we were happy to take on the responsibility on a caretaker basis,’ Vance said.
‘Managing Guernsey in a Muratti is always an honour, something both of us have been lucky enough to do in the past and ultimately after talking through the situation with the board representatives, we both felt that we couldn’t turn our back on this.’
Guernsey FA chief executive Gary Roberts revealed that the board looked upon the situation as unique and as such it justified approaching Vance and Fallaize to see if they were prepared to step in for the rest of the season.
‘While we all hope that we are close to the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have to be mindful of the disruption that has already been caused this season and the risk of further disruption moving forward, both from Covid-19 and the weather, which could impact on planning and preparation for the inter-insular matches,’ he said.
‘The board was also mindful of the limited amount of preparation time that any manager would have coming into the role and the opportunity to work with players – both due to the congested local fixture schedule and also that of Guernsey FC, which currently has a significant number of matches to play this season.
‘This consideration, along with the continued uncertainty caused by the pandemic, and in the knowledge that Tony and Colin have extensive experience of representative football, led the board to what was deemed to be a practical and sensible decision for this season.’
GFA chairman Chris Schofield added: ‘We are grateful that Tony and Colin have agreed to step into the role this year, which will hopefully bring success this season and allow the board the opportunity to review the position regarding the senior men’s representative manager role going forward once the season has concluded.’
