Stratford Town appoint Thomas Baillie as head of football

STRATFORD Town have announced the appointment of Thomas Baillie as the club's new head of football.

The 43-year-old joins Stratford with an impressive CV, having won the Southern League Division One Central title at a canter as joint manager of Kettering Town in 2014/15, while he has also gained some coaching experience with Norwich City's academy.

As head of football, Baillie will be overseeing all playing aspects at the club, including support for the club’s joint caretaker managers.

Baillie said: "I've known the directors at Stratford for some time and it's a fantastic club with fantastic facilities.

"The squad is full of potential and ability and they are better than the two wins in eight recorded to date.

"I've had numerous opportunities to come back into the game. I like the way the directors are operating the club, with a long-term plan in place. I believe it's now up to the management team to aid the players and help them realise their potential."

Stratford also plan to appoint a head coach in the coming weeks to aid with the coaching of the first team.

A Town spokesman confirmed: "The club in due course will be appointing a UEFA-qualified head coach to aid with the coaching of the first-team, as neither caretaker manager can take training due to current work commitments, which will now be under the remit of Thomas."

The training set-up has led to confusion in some quarters, with the club statement being deemed as 'false' by joint caretaker boss Nathan Marsh on Twitter on Wednesday morning.

He tweeted: "Myself and 777kop (Steve Walker) are delighted to have Thomas_Baillie1 on board he will bring a wealth of contacts and professionalism to the club. The comment of myself and walks (Walker) not making training is false, neither of us have missed a training session since committing to the club."

More from Town's new head of football in this week's Herald.