Simon Betts joins the coaching team

With the start of the season not so far away and with pre-season training starting on the 3rd of July, the club is very pleased to announce that it has secured Simon Betts as part of the First Team coaching staff for the coming campaign.

Hailing from Yorkshire, Simon brings with him considerable experience as both a player and a coach in the professional game and at local non-league level.  He started his career at his local club Middlesborough before signing professional terms with Ipswich Town in 1992 as a 19 year old.

It was at Colchester United that Simon made 191 first team appearances during a five year period which included being part of the winning team in the 1-0 victory over Torquay United in the 1997/98 Wembley play-off final.

Returning to Yorkshire in August 1999, he made 59 appearances for Scarborough before moving across the country to don the green and white of Yeovil Town in December 2000.

Simon ended his professional playing career at the age of 31 after having made 69 appearances in a two-year spell at Darlington.

Following a period turning out for non–league Whitby Town, Simon returned to East Anglia with appearances at Halstead Town and Needham Market before taking on a player/ coach role at Whitton United. Simon has made over 350 first team appearances throughout his career which most recently saw him finish as a player at Leiston FC after which he took on the role of under-18s coach at Ipswich Wanderers.

Joint coaches Ian Watson and Kevin O’Donnell are clearly bringing in experienced personnel in preparation for the coming season both on the playing side and the coaching side for what is going to be an exciting new venture in The  Isthmian League Bostik North Division.