SILSDEN chairman Sean McNulty believes the club's new joint-manager arrangement can be a success after Danny Bolton was confirmed as co-boss with Ryan Haigh.

Following the departure of Andy Geary, Haigh stepped up to the helm from being his assistant and now the Cobbydalers have announced that Bolton, who previously worked at the club under Chris Reape, will share managerial responsibilities.

McNulty believes that splitting the workload can be a big advantage. He said: “Having spoken to Andy before he finished his second stint at the club, it was clear that there was so much for the manager to do.

"We will have played 58 games this season, including pre-season friendlies. The managers also have to run training sessions, follow the progress of the development squad players and sometimes watch opponents or other players who might fit into their plans.

"Both Danny and Ryan have jobs and families and I felt we needed to spread the load to prevent burn-out. I have been impressed by how the pair have gelled in the last fortnight.”

McNulty is pleased that both appointments follow the club's tradition of promoting in-house.

He said: “We have always tried to promote from in the club and Ryan has served his time, first running the reserves and then assisting Andy. He has brought many of his former juniors into the first team and ran it when Andy was absent.”

“Danny has always been on the radar since he worked with (former boss) Chris Reape a few years ago. When Andy departed he showed an interest in returning to the club. It was an opportunity we couldn't miss.

“Although most teams plump for one manager, teams do occasionally have two and Barnoldswick Town even moved up to the Premier Division in the North West Counties League with three!”

Bolton said plans were already being formulated for the next campaign and wants to put the Cobbydalers among the best semi-pro clubs in the local area.

“We are now already looking at preparing for next season and building on the foundations that are already in place with the squad," he said.

"Ryan and I have an extensive knowledge of local players both from Lancashire and Yorkshire and we are looking at adding quality to the squad which will see the club achieve our objective of improving season on season.

“Pre-season may seem a long way away to some but we are wanting to have things in place which will mean we are hitting the ground running.

"We are a semi-professional football club and as such we demand that we compete like one and present ourselves like one.

“We are seeking to make Silsden FC the number one football club in the Bradford area and a solid outfit in the North West Counties Premier League. To do this we want the local community to come and join us on the journey.

"The club is in a fantastic position at the moment and there are exciting plans in the pipeline that we hope will move the club to the next level.”