Goode to consider a return to management if the right opportunity comes up

Goode surprisingly stepped down as Deeping boss yesterday (April 1) after five seasons at the helm at the Hayden Whitham Stadium.

Goode (43) had led the Clarets to two second-placed finishes in the United Counties Premier Division and engineered club-record runs in the FA Cup and the FA Vase. Deeping were sixth when the 2019-20 season was halted last week.

The city schoolteacher insists he has stepped down because of tiredness after 20 successive years in local football.

“It’s a sabbatical,” Goode said. “It will be great to spend some extra time with the family. I have two young daughters aged three and six, but my wife, Pam, has always supported my time in football.

“I’d (love) to be back one day and even have a shot at a higher level. I have-never had a sniff of managing a club at Step 4, even hough my record is not bad at step 5. I wanted that with deeping but just missed out.

“I’ve loved every minute at Deeping. They are my local club and it was a thrill to play for them when they won the UCL Premier Division title.

“We have been unlucky not to win the UCL Premier Division in the last five years. We finished second to the outstanding Peterborough Sports team. We won 95 points that season and still couldn’t get near them, but we would have won the title most seasons with that points tally. That season we also lost to Sports in the Hinchingbrooke Cup Final and lost to Cleethorpes in the Lincs Cup Final.

“We also finished second in the Premier Division last season to an excellent Daventry team who were just that bit better than us.

“Last season’s run in the FA Vase was memorable and who knows how much further we would have travelled if Scott Mooney’s goal when we were 2-1 up in the last 16 at Willand had been allowed to stand? “We played in front of 700 in an FA Cup tie against Kidderminster at Outgang Road and 1,000 saw us play against Posh. Who’d of thought that was even possible? I’ve played for Deeping when there were 15 fans in the ground!

“I like to think we’ve created a strong identity at the club. We play an excellent style of football which helped us, I believe, attract players we had no right to sign given the budget we had.

“The time is right now for me to have a break. I played for 10 years straight until I was 33, after breaking my leg, ironically whilst playing for Deeping, and then went straight into management at Blackstones and Peterborough Northern Star before moving to Deeping.

“I managed 290 Deeping games and another 230 at my previous clubs and that’s a lot of games at any level. There were times in the last season when I felt my decision-making was starting to be less clear so it’s a good time to step back.

“I will be back though.”

Goode has encouraged his assistant Jack Marsden to apply for the job and if that happens he would gladly help behind the scenes.

Goode also thanked other members of his backroom team, Martin Bond, Sam Seal and Dan Birchall.