PAUL Doswell is back in football - just a week after quitting as equity director and assistant boss at Eastleigh.
The 42-year-old, pictured, has signed a two-year contract as manager of Sutton United, who have just been relegated from the Blue Square South to the Ryman Premier.
"I've had three or four clubs ring me, but I only spoke to Sutton in the end," he said.
"There's no consortium involved as was reported in one of the non-League papers, I'm going purely as team manager with the aim of getting Sutton back into the Conference South within two years.
"There are four or five local players I'd like to come up there with me and the rest will probably come from the London area where I have good contacts like Steve West and Steve Watts who were with me at Eastleigh."
Although there will be extra travelling involved, Doswell said: "I've just moved to the Winchester area and the other night I got home from Sutton in 50 minutes. My car's my office in any case, so it's not too much of a bind."
A former Conference club, Sutton caused one of the greatest FA Cup upsets of all time when they beat First Division Coventry City 2-1 in the third round in 1989.
Results have nosedived in recent times and, after a poor start to the 2007/8 Blue Square South campaign, Ian Hazel resigned as manager to be replaced by former Basingstoke boss Ernie Howe. But he failed to steer them clear of relegation and they finished the season under the caretaker charge of Jimmy Dack.
Looking forward to the challenge, Doswell said: "I love taking on something that's not doing very well - I've done it in business and I did it with Eastleigh.
"The good thing about Sutton is that even in desperate times they've still had 500-600 crowds. They're a big club who've fallen behind the times and they're after someone to give them fresh impetus.
"I'll have no input in the off-the-field stuff. I'm there purely to concentrate on getting a side together."
Doswell will not be coughing up money for the players' wages either. "I've been given a budget which is not massive but it's workable," he said. "The only thing I'll be paying for is my own travelling expenses and those of my coach. That way all the budget will be for the players."
Doswell has stressed that ex-Saint David Hughes, Eastleigh's player/assistant manager, will NOT be joining him at Gander Green Lane.
