New Bemerton Heath Harlequins FC manager 'lives and breathes football'

He first got into coaching at university at the age of 18 and has built up plenty of experience over the past 12 years, leading to him being one of the Lead Coach Developers for England Football as well as operating a coaching company in Bournemouth.

"The opportunity here at Bemerton Heath Harlequins is a fantastic one. After speaking to the Board, I knew pretty quickly that this would be a good fit for me.

“I turned down a few other opportunities after leaving Poole Town because things weren’t quite right, but this is a project that I want to be part of as I can see the potential here.

“I know the level well and the challenges ahead from my time at Bashley, whilst I also know what is required at the level above from my experiences with Poole Town.

Bemerton Heath Harlequins' manager James Ellis. (Image: Bemerton Heath Harlequins)

“The base of the club is already there. They have had success previously; to finish 13th last season following back-to-back promotions tells you that something is going right at the club.

“The previous manager [Shaun Hale] did a fantastic job and I am excited to be able to pick that up and continue taking things forward.

“The club were very transparent with me from the off that they don’t have the resources of some of the other clubs in this League.

“We want to be able to establish ourselves in the Pitching In Southern League Division One South and better last season’s finish.

“What we can do to achieve this is effect everything around us; how we operate, the professionalism and culture that we build here.

“I can’t wait for the season to get underway.”

The Harlequins kick off their 2024/2025 campaign in the FA Cup at home to Brockenhurst on Saturday, August 3, at 3pm.