National League North Chester have rewarded joint-managers Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley with new two-and-a-half-year deals.
The duo put pen-to-paper on new deals at the 1885 Arena on Friday with the Blues fourth and heading into 2020 with the title race far from over.
Ramsbottom United‘s former management team arrived in May 2018 as the successors to Marcus Bignot following the club’s relegation from the National League having led Salford City to the National League North title only weeks earlier.
Their futures had been on the Cheshire club’s agenda for some time with their current deals set to run out at the end of the season.
As well as their own posts on Twitter hailing the club’s move, the pair also looked forward to being at the helm until at least the end of the 2021/2022 season in a joint statement.
They told fans: “Stay with us. Our ambitions are limitless. Chester FC‘s ceiling is as high as we want it to be. This isn’t a small little club punching above it’s weight, where we are right now is the absolute minimum. We believe where we can get to over the next two-and-a-half years is scary.”
An absolute honour and privilege to be given the opportunity to manage this great club for two and a half more years alongside my best pal
????? @BernMorley84 https://t.co/qJEpZuUYbf— Anthony Johnson (@amjonno) January 3, 2020
The Blues announced the news on Friday in a club statement ahead of their trip to Guiseley on Saturday.
Chester FC vice-chair Andy Morris said: “The Board of City Fans United are delighted to secure the contract extension of Bernard Morley and Anthony Johnson until May 2022.
“Successful football clubs are built through sustained and continued improvement on and off the pitch and the work that these managers have done over the last 18 months to develop a footballing infrastructure, which aligned to our club values, has been remarkable given where the club were when they joined.
“The board look forward to working with the managers for the duration of the contract and have the upmost confidence that the club will continue to progress under their stewardship.”
Despite a stop-start first season in charge that included injuries and match postponements due to infrastructure damage at the ground, Johnson and Morley guided Chester to a respectable 9th placed finish – just three points short of the play-off places.
Images courtesy of chesterfc.com
