Newly appointed First Team Manager, Darren Sarll says he is delighted to have been given the job on a permanent basis after being in caretaker charge for the final 17 games of the season.
Stevenage ended the season with just one defeat out of the last nine games under the stewardship of Sarll and Glenn Roeder, who has also been re-appointed as Managerial Advisor.
Sarll says that such a strong end to the season gave him a great opportunity.
“Yeah I am obviously delighted with the outcome, it is great news. It is something I have kept very close to my chest whilst I was in the position of caretaker manager out of respect for the chairman and the club.
“Whenever you go into that caretaker role you do it with the intention of winning and getting positive results and doing that leads you onto opportunity. Once we got our house in order it became clear that we had something quite positive, we finished the season strong and it put me in a good position.”
The news came swiftly after the conclusion of the season and Sarll says that it is a bonus to get it done as soon as possible.
“It just allows us to continue what we are doing,” Sarll added. “I was always working with the club’s best interests at heart so things were already rolling in place, we obviously just didn’t know who the manager was.
“As soon as that was announced we were able to execute a few things that had been rolling on for some time. It has been good to be able to meet the players at the end of the season as the manager, not the temporary manager.
“I hate this time of year. I don’t like not working so I will be working throughout the whole of May and June. I will have seven days off away with the family but apart from that I’ll be working.”
As already stated, Glenn Roeder will continue to work at the club as Managerial Advisor and it is a move that Sarll wholeheartedly approves of.
“It has been great. It’s a real positive that we have been able to keep someone like Glenn Roeder," Sarll said. "We have found a really good dynamic between each other, two quite contrasting personalities.
“But both very straight and down the line which allows us to be very effective with our time because we are never going round the houses, we always talk very straight and openly with each other. He has been a terrific influence on me, he has been a calming influence.
“Obviously at 33 I have got a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm. At 60, he can sit back and watch me run around like a lunatic and guide me in a more effective way.”
Finally, Sarll was honoured to have received a great deal of support from the fans on both social media and on the street after the announcement was made.
“The fans were terrific in their support of me in some difficult times. They will go into next year knowing the manager of Stevenage is a true fan of Stevenage, like they are. I think we all want to know the man at the helm has their best interests at heart.
“I am really grateful for their appreciation. It was nice to thank them for their support at the end of the final home game and hopefully we can get give them a little bit more next year.”