Shake-up at Southwick ahead of new season

Ross Myers sealed a switch to Shoreham from Southwick over the summer.

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The joint management duo of Jeff Piner and Tony Gratwicke will no longer be taking charge of Southwick Football Club in Southern Combination League Division 1 this season.

Gratwicke and Piner were appointed to replace John Kilgarriff as bosses earlier in the summer, while former East Preston manager Paul Ettridge joined in a head coach capacity.

Circumstances have changed for Piner during pre-season, though, which means he will no longer be taking charge as a joint boss.

A managerial shake-up now sees Gratwicke take charge in a sole manager role, while Ettridge will still be helping out as head coach.

Gratwicke, who led Mile Oak from Brighton League football through to the now Southern Combination League during a successful previous tenure, admits it has not been ideal preparation in pre-season.

He said: “There has been a change in circumstances so Jeff and I will no longer be joint managers.

“I will be taking sole responsibility of the team with Paul coming on board as a head coach.

“Paul was someone I wanted for his coaching expertise and I’m pleased he’s still going to be involved.”

Wickers kick off the new season with a Peter Bentley Cup first round clash at home to fellow SCFL Division 1 outfit Bexhill United.

Neither Gratwicke or Ettridge are around for the season opener, so Piner and Mark Hilfiker will be taking charge for one game only.