Thamesmead Town Football Club have announced the appointment of Lloyd Hume as “Director of Football” as club CEO Paul Bowden Brown continues his restructuring of the club.

Lloyd joins the Mead after being Maidstone United manager for nearly 300 games from 2004 winning honours in both the Isthmian and the Kent Leagues. Ironically it’s nearly five years to the day that Lloyd left Maidstone that he has been appointed at Thamesmead Town.

Speaking the official TTFC website, Lloyd said, “I’ve known Paul for around ten years and have worked for him for just over six. We’ve had our highs and our lows but we have a terrific relationship and I’m keen to do something with him again.”

“He didn’t really come calling – we haven’t actually lost touch and talk every now and then. My first reaction was one of surprise when I heard that he was back involved so heavily with and thought that he was a glutton for punishment and that what I said to him when I realised he has now actually taken over the club now.”

“Paul’s passion for football and the club is something that must be respected. I just think that Paul needs help on the football side who understands football a bit more than Paul does. As good a chairman I – although in a different role now as CEO – know he had been previously and as good as someone understands how a club should be structured properly, he needs some help on the football side of things, which is where I come in.”

Given that Lloyd hasn’t been in the public eye since leaving Maidstone United in 2010, there well be the detractors who criticise the appointment being that he’s been away from the game for a couple of years.

However they would be wrong as Lloyd explained. “I’ve been scouting for Rochdale and now Accrington Stanley. I get actively involved in their club at least once a month – I’m still an A licence coach and have recently renewed the license and I run an under 15s semi pro side at the moment.”

“Up until a couple of months ago I was still working with my brother in the Kent League. But my personal circumstances have changed as we’ve had another daughter and I wanted to invest a bit more time with my last child and now I’m ready to get involved in football again.”

“I see coming in now as a great opportunity. Keith McMahon has done wonders at the club in the time and he has been THE club! And if he’d still been there, this role would have interested me because he’s had that on and of the pitch.”

“This is a fresh start for Thamesmead – it gives us all a chance to start again using a blank canvas and you know that’s the bit that really interests me. I intend to treat it as a completely fresh challenge whether Thamesmead’s been there for ten years or one hundred it will be a fresh venture for me.”

“I looked at the League and have been following it on and off since Paul’s been at the club. There’s a couple of sides that you always look for in the division, but it not one that I’m used to – the North League.”

“But I’m also aware and I think that at times its not as strong as the South but that doesn’t mean that you don’t need the same values and the same qualities to do well in the League – and it will be a tough League; any League that based around London is always competitive for players and that’s where the challenge can come to attract them – and that’s part of the job that I’ll be doing.”

“I understand the reservations about Keith going but we’ve all got to look forward to an exciting future for the club. Give Paul and the off field time to achieve what they’re trying to achieve. There will be a new manager coming in who will have new ideas and fresh ideas – they might not like them initially, but please just give them a chance to work before they criticise!”

“I’m going to be involved in the process of appointing the new manager as we’re currently finalising the criteria for the people who we’ll be interviewing early next week and we’re looking to announce the new man by midweek!”