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Ex-Gill to forfeit manager's wages

ALAN WALKER: "The easy thing would have been to walk away"
ALAN WALKER: "The easy thing would have been to walk away"

FORMER Gillingham player Alan Walker will remain as manager of Tonbridge Angels until the end of December when he will decide whether he will finish the job of trying to gain promotion.

Walker was set to leave the club after their failure to find a major sponsor gave them no option other than to cut the wage bill.

But at a crisis meeting it was agreed that Walker, his assistant Lloyd Hume and captain Peter Overton would forfeit their wages for the month in order that the team stays together.

Speaking to the Kent Messenger before that meeting, Walker said it "would take a miracle" for him to remain at the club.

But his, and the Board’s determination to continue their success allowed them to reach a compromise.

Walker explained: "The Board have made strenuous efforts to secure the future of the club and we decided that we had to make a compromise.

"Therefore, as a gesture of goodwill, the three of us will work for nothing this month, on the basis that the rest of the squad are paid in full".

But Walker stressed: "There is a limit to how long I will continue with no money", he added.

Many of the players in Walker’s current squad have joined from other clubs out of loyalty to their boss, and would be as quick to follow him through the exit door, something that Walker considered when making his decision.

"I didn’t want to walk away in a fit of pique because the probability is that the vast majority of the squad would have gone too", he said.

"My job was to build a team and I have, and it would have been a real shame to throw away all that hard work."

Walker will review the situation again at the end of the month but in the meantime is happy to concentrate on matters on the pitch.

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