New two-year deal for Mark Beesley

Warrington Town manager Mark Beesley has signed a new two-year contract extension.

Beesley, 42, took over as manager in November 2021 but has been at the club since 2016, having been assistant to predecessor Paul Carden.

He led the Yellows to the Northern Premier League play-off final last year, and this season the club sits in third place in the table and is currently on a 16-game unbeaten run.

Beesley said: “I’ve been here a long time and I can see the progress we are making on and off the pitch and we want to continue that. I’ve really enjoyed it since taking over, we feel like we’ve moved the club forward, we play a good brand of football and gates are up, so people seem to be enjoying it.

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“The club’s got huge potential. Everyone wants short-term wins, but we know that you have to keep improving and making progress to go in the right direction long-term.

“I want to continue to establish myself as a manager. I’m only 18 months in to this job and had a brief spell at Burscough before that, so I’m constantly learning and evolving.

“I’ve got a great team around me in Ravo (Dave Raven), Canners (Mark Canning) and Ben (Nutter). Long-term, of course I want to manage as high as I can.”

Assistant manager Dave Raven has also penned a two-year extension, keeping Beesley and his team at the club until at least the end of the 2024/25 season.

Chairman Toby Macormac said: “Bees has been here since 2016 and knows how the club works and how it functions off the pitch. He has been part of some great moments in recent years, including the play-off final victory, and like many at the club, is driven to take us forward and keep progressing.

“It is important to have stability so that we can start planning for next season, regardless of what division we are in.”

Beesley had a brief spell on loan at Cantilever Park as a player back in 2012/13, towards the end of a career as a striker that he mainly spent in the Conference. He combines his job at the Yellows with his work at the Robbie Fowler academy.

For now, focus turns to a tough away trip to Morpeth Town on Saturday – a trip the Yellows have already made twice this season, once in the cup and the other when a late postponement meant a wasted journey in the league.

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Beesley added: “Your main focus has to be so short-term, so just looking at the next game. The league is so unforgiving that if you look too far ahead, you’ll get a kick in the teeth. We have to make sure we do everything right.

“Although we’ve got a small squad, finances dictate that we don’t have the money to carry players. We want good players who all can play whenever called upon.

“It means we’ve got a close-knit group, and you can see that team spirit and togetherness. Without that and organisation, you don’t beat a good team with 10 men for 90 minutes as we did last week.

“We knew at the start of the season we had a few new players to bed in and that there would be a few bumps in the road. Everyone bought in and stuck with it, we had a few injuries, but the players believed in the process and the chairman did too, so hopefully we can get where we want to be.”