Poole dives in at the deep end as he takes the reins at Aylesbury FC

Based in the Thame area, Poole has been managing within local football for 17 years. Starting in Sunday league football with the successful Royal Oak side, he went on to manage Launton in the Hellenic League and saved them from certain relegation before taking the reins at Oakley United.

His most recent success came at Thame Rangers where he led the team to last season’s South Midlands League Division Two title and also the Wycombe & Slough Senior Cup.

Poole takes over from previous manager Davis Haule, who stepped down from the position at the end of last month following a poor run of form that has seen Aylesbury lose seven of nine games since the turn of the year.

An FA Level 2 coach, Poole has previously been involved with Oxford and Reading community coaching but now works in the building design and renovation trade.

“Aylesbury FC will be a step up but with a huge knowledge of capable local players, I’m confident we can steady the ship and improve results ready for next season,” said the new manager following his appointment on Monday.

Poole will be assisted at Aylesbury by Dave Morris, who had a long playing career during which he appeared for Chesham United, Maidenhead United and old rivals Flackwell Heath, where he was captain for a season.

Poole tweeted: “Very pleased to have Dave Morris alongside me as joint manager at Aylesbury. We’ve known each other a while, we have similar ideas and we’re both going to give it our best shot.”

During his playing days, Morris also turned out for Holmer Green and Penn & Tylers Green, and after moving to Eynsham in the mid 1990s, he played for and then managed the club’s first team to promotion and consecutive cup finals over three seasons.

In the 2016/17 season, he moved to Kidlington where he guided the reserves to promotion to the Hellenic League and won the Challenge Cup.

Poole and Morris will have their work cut out at Aylesbury, whose downturn in form reached a new low last Tuesday when thrashed 5-1 at home to bottom side Arlesey Town.

Arlesey had just eight points and one victory all season heading into the game but they were emphatic winners on the night, largely thanks to Billy Lannon’s hat-trick, with Harry Scott only managing a consolation for the Moles.

The pair took charge for the first time last night when FC were beaten 1-0 by Marlow.