FAWLEY AFC have gone ‘in house’ to replace departed manager Colin Lane.

The Oilers will have a joint management team at the helm next season, pairing up former team boss Richie Coxall with club captain Callum Earl, who has already been helping out on the coaching side.

It was under Coxall’s charge that Fawley gained promotion to the Sydenhams Premier top flight in 2009/10, finishing runners-up to Folland Sports.

He managed them for their first season in the Wessex Premier and worked side by side with his successor Paul Wiltshire towards the end of that campaign having announced he would be standing down due to work and family commitments.

Coxall remained on the committee of the Waterside club and he and Earl had a brief stint in caretaker charge when Wiltshire was asked to stand down in February 2012.

Wiltshire’s right-hand man Lane subsequently took the reins and, in difficult circumstances, has managed to steer the club clear of relegation this season, finishing with back-to-back wins over Totton & Eling and Fareham Town.

“We’d known for quite some time that Colin was standing down at the end of the season so we had time to put some ideas in place,” explained Fawley chairman Kevin Mitchell.

“In keeping with the way we run the club, it’s good that we could make the appointments internally.

“Paul Carr, who assisted Richie (Coxall) when he was manager before, is joining the coaching staff along with one of our ex-players Wayne Harvey who has helped us out before.

“Our reserve management, Darren Sayer and Jason Ford, will stay the same. Unlike some clubs, we will carry on running a reserve side. “Our entire back five against Fareham last week all came through our second team. “Some clubs run on a budget and some on a shoestring. At Fawley we run on a thread, but we still see the importance of having a reserve side. It’s the future and the lifeline of our club.”

Fawley had a well attended players’ meeting on Wednesday in which Coxall outlined his plans ready for pre-season training on June 16.

“We already have a large number of existing players signed on and some former players will be returning to us,” Mitchell confirmed.

“The Waterside is a good catchment area and we feel we’ve got a lot to offer local players.”