When Hugo Langton left Welling United in January of last year you would have got long odds on him returning to Park View Road as his next major role in football.
However the Welling dugout is where Hugo Langton finds himself once more following official confirmation of a restructuring of the Welling management team in the wake of Steve King’s departure.
Welling Chairman Mark Goldberg announced yesterday that he will oversee player recruitment and be the manager whilst Langton will have a senior role as Head coach assisted by Paul Barnes and Osei Sankofa.
The role is one that Langton is relishing, “I feel Welling fans didn’t see the real me in my first stint and I consider this return unfinished business in a sense” he told Kent Sports News.
Langton continued: “A lot of people may think I left Welling the first time because of Mark Goldberg but we parted on very good terms and he is a huge reason why I’ve returned. There is a mutual trust there and he has every faith in me to help him deliver what’s required”.
Hugo is not the only one returning to the club as former Welling coaches Paul Barnes and Osei Sankofa also return to familiar surroundings.
Langton spoke highly of the opportunity to work with a new backroom team in Barnes and Sankofa, “when I agreed to come back I wanted to work with different people and Paul and Osei I’ve developed instant respect for, they are clear thinkers and have good football brains. They are going to be very important additions to the backroom staff”.
Welling were playoff finalists last season losing to Woking FC but Langton and the new management team know that they will be hard pressed to repeat that next season as Goldberg has announced a reduced budget with a more cautious target of a top half finish.
With the quality of the National League South increasing year on year as well the money involved, Langton concedes that weekly games in the NLS will feel like cup finals given the standard of the level.
He said “The league next year ultimately will be decided by the team that can best maintain their form over the course of the season. With Dulwich, Dartford, Maidstone, Chelmsford and Havant just to name a few it’s clear that we are in for a very competitive season. My aim is to build a side that can compete with them”.
Having announced the management restructure, Langton confirmed the club will be announcing new signings in the coming week as he looks to hit the ground running ahead of the start of pre-season.