Departing Lewes boss: Whoever takes over is a lucky manager

Hugo Langton bid farewell to Lewes FC and said: My replacement will be taking on a great job.
Hugo Langton has left Lewes FC / Picture: James BoyesHugo Langton has left Lewes FC / Picture: James Boyes
Hugo Langton has left Lewes FC / Picture: James Boyes

The boss of the club’s Isthmian premier division team has moved on just over a year after taking on what was always intended to be a short-term role.

He leaves by mutual consent, leaving the club searching for a new manager to lead the team into the 2021-22 season.

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Langton said his departure was very amicable – and said he had nothing but praise for the club and the way it was run.

He told the Sussex Express: “When I came to Lewes it was going to be until the end of the 19-20 season, then lockdown happened and everything was uncertain.

“The club and I agreed I should stay on but when this season started, it was always going to stop.

“I was happy to carry on but now is the right time to move on. I’ve a few things in football I want to do, some projects in mind, but at the moment, what I’ll do next I don’t know.”

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Langton said Rooks chairman Stuart Fuller had been a joy to work with and was someone Lewes’ next boss should look forward to teaming up with. “He is calm and objective and I feel privileged to have worked with him. He’s someone I will know for the rest of my life. Whoever gets the manager’s job will be lucky.”

One of Langton’s big aims while bossing the Rooks was to give players from the club’s under-18 set-up a chance. More than half a dozen made senior appearances and showed potential to go on to higher things.

Now he hopes his successor takes a similar approach and uses a mix of youth and experience to guide Lewes to a good 21-22 campaign.

“There are some very good young players there and will only get better. I know the club will want to carry on nurturing and developing them,” he said.

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Langton, who has previously worked at Welling, Eastbourne Borough, Bromley, Hastings and Horsham, said: “It’s been an unusual year but a brilliant one.

“I think you can judge yourself on the feedback you get from players when you leave a post, and the feedback I’ve had means I’ve done my job. I’ve had some amazing messages, really heartfelt. Saying goodbye to players was quite emotional – then I went back to being a brick!”

Meanwhile chairman Fuller says they hope to have a new manager in place by May 10. Fuller said: “We’ve now started to receive applications for the role and have seen some excellent potential candidates put their CVs forward. The process is open for a couple more weeks and I am sure we will receive more applications from high-calibre individuals.”

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