Faversham Town chairman Gary Smart on process of appointing new boss of Isthmian South East side

Chairman Gary Smart admits the board at Faversham Town must decide whether to stick or twist as they hunt for a new boss.

The Lilywhites are on the look-out for Tommy Warrilow’s successor, with Smart suggesting the appointment could be made by this weekend.

While a seventh-placed finish on an Isthmian South East return - alongside a run to the last qualifying round of the FA Cup - was far from a disaster, Warrilow was sacked over Easter.

The call was made amid a run of just four points from six matches as Faversham’s play-off hopes faded.

Frannie Collin and former Margate and Hythe boss Steve Watt took temporary charge, and are among those being considered for the job, but there are plenty of other names in the hat at Salters Lane.

Smart revealed: “We had more than 50 applicants but, obviously, we have whittled that down to five or six and that’s the process we are going through now. We wanted to get the play-offs out the way, which didn’t finish until Monday.

“From Tuesday, we have been making (interview) arrangements. We have now told the people that are going to be shortlisted and, with those who haven’t been, we have given them a heads-up already. It’s just a matter of getting the timings correct.

“We would like to get it all done and dusted by May 10.

“It’s a gutter because I didn’t think we would be in this situation! I really enjoyed working with Tommy.

"He’s a great man and we have a lot to thank him for, taking us up a league last year.

“But when you look at the start of the season we had, I think - up until Christmas - we were averaging just over two points-per-game. When you look from Christmas onwards, we were averaging 1.2 points-per-game.

“If you spin the league around, we should have finished second on