AFC Fylde appoint new manager as chair opens up about their long search

Craig Mahon, on the ball against Hereford for Curzon Ashton last season, is AFC Fylde's new manager

AFC Fylde have appointed former Curzon Ashton player and manager Craig Mahon as the club’s new head coach.

Hereford manager Paul Caddis had been linked to the vacancy and now it appears he did fit at least some of the club's criteria.

The National League North club, relegated from non-league's top flight last season, wanted Kevin Philips’ replacement to live within a 60-minute drive of Mill Farm to "immerse themselves into the club and community alike".

Opening up about their recruitment mission, Fylde chair David Haythornthwaite said it was as a result of past mistakes, they had several non-negotiables which they were determined to stick to.

It also included wanting to play, expansive, energetic, high-press, possession-based football that gets the crowd on their feet and the search started after Phillips left his role in February after just four months in charge.

"Several candidates told us or indicated that you couldn’t get out of the NLN playing that way, so they eliminated themselves," he said.

With 10 initially in the running, it came down to three,

"Craig was the clear favourite based on his achievements at Curzon and both the way his teams played and achieved with a very limited budget," he added.

“Craig shared our vision regarding on how we wanted to play and act, both on and off the field and the high standards we expect him to set.

The 35-year-old Irishman joins from fellow National League North side Curzon Ashton where he has spent the last five years as both player and coach before being appointed permanent manager in 2024.

As a player, Mahon made over 400 appearances in total across the National League and National League North. The club boasted that he "has built up an extensive knowledge and network within the National League pyramid" which helped him "establish Curzon as a club who have consistently outperformed expectations".

Mahon said: “I’m over the moon to be here. I’m really grateful to be given the opportunity and I’m looking forward to being a part of something special.

“There’s a lot of work to do but I’m really excited to be a part of this football club. It’s an exciting project and when you look around the place, you can see the potential AFC Fylde has.

“We’ll be looking in the next few weeks to build a squad, as well as a culture, that can bring the positive times back to the club and have a team the supporters can be proud of."