ALI RENNIE is to step down as Horley Town manager at the end of the season after helping to appoint his successor – current reserve team boss Trevor Smith.
This is the Scotman's second spell at the New Defence after first quitting in the summer of 2010, but after just a year away, Rennie rejoined the Combined Counties League club in June 2011.
And Rennie admits if it had been any club other than Horley asking, he would not have stepped back into football management.
"When the chairman, Mark Sale, first asked me to come back I said it wouldn't be long-term," Rennie explained.
"If it had been any other club than Horley ringing me up I probably wouldn't have gone back.
"I had been enjoying going to different grounds to watch football and even in April or May time I still wasn't considering managing again, it was only when I got the call that June.
"I just wanted to build the club back up and bring in a bit of stability and see where it went from there."
And Rennie insists management takes up more time than more people expect.
"It isn't just getting up on Saturdays and going to a game; I'll probably still do that," he said.
"Management isn't just Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday – it is the rest of the week too. You are constantly thinking about it, especially after a loss."
With manager-to-be Smith attending first team games whenever his reserves are not playing, Rennie hopes it will be a smooth transition next season and is fully behind the club's choice for the new boss.
"Trevor has a lot of football knowledge – you can see that from the players he has brought into the reserves and youth teams," Rennie said.
"The players have been brought up properly as far as football is concerned; they have discipline and the right attitude, no egos.
"And if Trevor ever needs me to go and watch the opposition next season I can do that for him."
And while Rennie thinks Smith is the right man for the job at the moment, he believes there is another future first team manager already at the New Defence – defender and youth team boss Anthony Jupp.
"Anthony has been at the club for a long time and he is someone I would consider for the job in the future, but at the moment he is concentrating on his youth side," Rennie added.
