Women’s management change

Following the resignation of Simon Harrison, Royal Wootton Bassett Town have appointed Adam Wood as Women's First Team manager. Sadie Harrison has also stepped down from the team's management. The club would like to express their thanks to Simon and Sadie for their effort and commitment over the last year. Although suffering relegation from the South West Regional Women's Football League Premier Division, Bassett did reach the Wiltshire County Women's Cup final last season, while Harrison continued to develop the club's talented young players. Taking over from Harrison, Wood initially joined Bassett as assistant manager in January. Most recently with Swindon Town where he managed the Robins' Under 16 squad before serving as joint-manager of their Development team, Wood has also spent time with Swindon Spitfires, Oxford City Development and Abingdon United. He enjoyed significant success as manager of the latter two teams - and it is hoped he can replicate that now with Bassett as the club aims to return to tier five of the women's football pyramid at the earliest opportunity. Commenting on his appointment Wood said: "First of all, I want to send my best wishes to Simon and Sadie and thank them not only for welcoming me over last season but also for the hard work they both put in over the last nearly 18 months." "I'm really excited to be back in the managerial seat again and when I spoke to Bryan about the opportunity it was a no-brainer. Last season I really found my love for coaching again and it is thanks to the players and staff here." "I've said before this is a great team who found form just a little bit too late last season but the talent in this squad is really promising."  "We will be and are already recruiting players to add that bit more to our arsenal. We've had a lot of interest, some who played at the weekend and who most importantly are gelling with the current squad." "I'm pleased to say that Sam (Wood) has agreed to stay on in the coaching staff and the search will start as I look to build our management team at the same time as preseason preparations continue." "There will be some slight changes for the squad as I look to implement how I operate, but all in all it should be an easy transition for the team." "I feel this is going to be a great season. We will play attractive attacking football, and we will be looking at our opportunities off the pitch such as integration with the youth teams and other activities to help strengthen the Women's and Girls' section overall."