Avro manager Alex Frost is relishing his first taste of management and admitted that he was ‘delighted’ when he and assistant manager Phil Edghill were offered the opportunity to extend their stay at the Vestacare Stadium beyond the end of this campaign, writes Liam Bambridge.

The duo were initially appointed on an interim basis after the departure of James Hampson and Lee O’Brien, before being confirmed as permanent successors last week.

“It certainly wasn’t something that I had in mind when I was first approached back in January’, revealed the former Ashton United defender.

“However, I decided to say yes and see how it went, and I think it’s fair to say that I’ve been properly bitten by the bug. It can be incredibly stressful at times and I know that I still have a huge amount to learn, but it’s also been hugely rewarding when things have gone to plan.

“Our aim has always been to finish in the top six at the very least, regardless of what happened after that. We have put ourselves in a great position to do just that, and now we have to finish off the job.”

Avro’s excellent season has not gone unnoticed on the local non league circuit, with Kane Wallwork, Joe Rathbone and Louis Potts all attracting interest from other clubs in recent weeks.

Frost accepts this inevitability, but is equally keen to do all he can to keep the current squad together.

“It’s always going to be tough when these situations arise; you don’t want to lose your best players, but you also don’t want to hold them back if they have the opportunity of playing at a higher level.

“We have some fantastic footballers at this club and they are also great lads, their spirit is incredible. They have run themselves into the ground for me over the last six weeks and even when they haven’t got the results that their performances have deserved, they have come back for more in the next one.

“Why wouldn’t you want to keep those kinds of players at the club? But first we will concentrate in the next six games on finishing as high as we can, and then we’ll sit down one by one with them and see where they want to be in August.”

The first of those six games arrives tomorrow night at the Silentnight Stadium, home of Barnoldswick Town. The unusual kick off time of 7.30pm is courtesy of the annual North West Counties League Groundhop, which gives non league enthusiasts the opportunity to watch seven games across the three divisions between Friday night and Sunday afternoon.

“I certainly wouldn’t want to make a habit of it and neither do the players, but it’s fine as a one off. Anything which generates interest in the league has to be a good thing,” was Frost’s reaction to what will be a first ever trip for the club to the small town east of Burnley, after the only previous scheduled meeting fell victim to the early curtailment of the 2019-20 season.

The team will head north with no new injury worries to report; Joe Rathbone remains sidelined with a foot problem, but other than that Frost has a full squad from which to choose as he aims for a first win of the season against a side who were 10 minutes away from an away win back in October before Kyle Harrop’s equaliser

n The club are offering free coach travel to any supporters who wish to be a part of this historic occasion; the coach will leave the Vestacare Stadium at 5pm, and anyone interested in being on board needs to email Supporter.Services@avrofc.co.uk or send a Direct Message via the Twitter account.