Fergus O'Callaghan one of three candidates to be next Walsham-le-Willows manager

Walsham-le-Willows are on the cusp of appointing a new manager, with chairman Keith Mills revealing former assistant manager Fergus O’Callaghan is one of three candidates to have made the shortlist.

O’Callaghan left the club over the summer to manage divisional rivals Haverhill Rovers in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division, and he has led them to some surprising results.

But, after Rovers were made aware of an approach by Walsham and O’Callaghan expressed an interest, he was told his services would no longer be required at The New Croft.

Mills confirmed the club had issued a seven-day approach notice to Rovers, registering their interest in speaking to their former assistant as they continue the search for a new manager, but he was not prepared to be drawn on the circumstances that led to O’Callaghan’s exit from Rovers.

He said: “We have approached Fergus as one of three candidates we are considering for the position.

“They are all aware that they are not the only candidate we are talking to. We will talk to them all and make a decision on who we think is best suited to the role.

“We received a good number of applications and we’re pleased to be able to move to get it sorted as soon as possible, but we don’t expect a decision this week.

“It’s not ideal for a manager to have to come straight in without being able to watch a few games from the sidelines first, so we hope they take the opportunity this weekend; we don’t want to rush it.

“We are at the bottom of the league and we lost again on Saturday, we do need to get it sorted and start looking ahead to better form and results.

“And we know all three candidates would be available to take the role on immediately.”

Walsham have been without a manager since October 2, with Trevor Newman standing down. Midfielder Matt Collins’ father Trevor has overseen the last two outings.

And he helped the side to their first win since August 30, as they beat Whitton United 2-1 away in Tuesday night’s Suffolk Premier Cup second-round clash.

Matt Collins and Craig Nurse found the net to see Walsham into the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, in the Premier Division, the side remain bottom after losing their sixth match in a row on Saturday.

Long Melford beat their hosts 2-1 to leave Walsham still searching for a second victory of the campaign.

They have lost eight of nine fixtures to hold just three points from their performances so far, and it was this poor form that led to previous manager Trevor Newman resigning.

The team now have a weekend without a fixture, with chairman Mills keen to try to fill the vacant managerial position before their next match the following Saturday.

Mills said: “It’s a good time for us to have the weekend off.”