Herne Bay FC are delighted to announce the appointment of Liam Friend and Tom Wynter as first team manager and assistant manager, respectively. Friend, who has been a pivotal figure at the club, and Wynter, step into their roles following the departure of James Collins.

ABOUT THE DUO

Liam Friend's football journey is deeply rooted in Kent's non-league scene. Over the course of his career, he made nearly 550 appearances for Folkestone Invicta, spending a decade at the club. Subsequently, he had stints at Margate, Ramsgate, Ashford United, and Chatham Town before joining us in July 2023.

Friend's appointment as manager underscores the clubs confidence in his vision and leadership. His deep understanding of the club's ethos and his rapport with players are expected to be instrumental in steering us towards future successes.

Former professional footballer Tom Wynter joins Liam, as an assistant manager in this new chapter for Herne Bay FC. This move marks a significant transition for the 34 year old, who has spent over a decade playing in Kents non-league scene.

Wynter's football journey began at Gillingham FC, where he progressed through the youth ranks to make his first-team debut in 2009. Following his time at Gillingham, he had stints at Dover Athletic, Dartford, Margate, Ramsgate, and Hythe Town. Notably, he retired from playing in 2021 but made a brief return to the pitch in 2024 after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus due to a knee injury.

In July 2023, Wynter took on a managerial role at Lydd Town, serving as joint-manager alongside Ryan Smith. His leadership was instrumental in guiding the club through their inaugural season in the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division.

Wynter will work alongside his ex-teammate, Liam Friend. His extensive experience and understanding of the local football scene are expected to be valuable assets to the club's development and success.

FIRST INTERVIEW

The club interviewed Liam to ask him a few questions about his new role at the club and what to expect during the new campaign.

What made you want to take the step up from captain and go into the management role at Herne Bay?

“It wasn’t something that I was desperate to do needing to do straight away. It was that the opportunity arose, and obviously, it’s an amazing opportunity and really, really unbelievable to get the chance to do. It wasn’t like I was biding my time or waiting for anything, but it was such a good opportunity. As soon as it came about, I couldn’t wait to get started.”

The 2024/25 campaign didn’t go quite the way that we wanted. Can you give us an insight on the previous season?

“Yes, [I] totally agree. No one at the club was pleased with where we finished — in 16th position. We definitely think we should have come a bit higher with the players we’ve had and the club we are. Putting the finger on it, [there were a] couple of different issues: too many mistakes at the back and probably not enough goals going forward. It’s not really the recipe that you want for football. There’s obviously been a couple of changes over the course of the season. Steve coming in, Matt coming in for a little short period, James coming in. It’s sort of [been] a bit up and down. Hopefully, we can create a little bit of stability moving forward.”

You have had a lot of experience working with some of the great managers in non-league over the years. How are you going to use that experience in your managerial role?

“I’ve played for some really big names in the non-league over the last few years: Neil Cugley, Jay Saunders, people like that. Every experience you have, you learn [from it] and [get to] learn from people. I’ve got to be my own man and do the things that I want to do. Hopefully, all of the different managers I’ve had over the last 20 years, I can take the good bits from and [allow it to] help me and Herne Bay out at the same time.”

Managers have a plethora of ex-players who they have worked with previously. How do you go about recruitment next season?

“The recruitment part started already. I spoke to the board last Tuesday, so a week [ago]. We’ve come up with a list of players and targets that we want to try and attract to the club. Like I’ve said previously, Herne Bay is a big club, especially for the level we’re at. Lovely pitch, good stadium, good set of fans. I would imagine attracting players here shouldn’t be the most difficult task to do. Obviously, we’ve got a squad of players that have finished the season with us. There’s some talent in there also, but we’ve got to make sure we get the right balance between those existing players and signing some new ones.”

Without naming names. Do you think there are any of your former teammates who you look to retain?

“Yes, of course, there’s going to be conversations that we want to keep the players that we’ve had. We’ve come 16th in the league, so if we just rinsed and repeat, then would we [want to] come in a position? Probably not. Hopefully, we can keep the players that myself and my assistant manager, Tom Wynter, want to keep. Dan Tanner’s working with me to try and sign some players [as] part of the recruitment process as well. It’s up to us to come up with the best idea that suits the club going forward — to try and be as successful as possible.”

It’s going to be a hard task but how are you looking to manage your own game time as a manager/player?

“So the chairman, Matt, [was on our] podcast last week announcing me as the manager, and he covered this question a little bit. I suppose, in that, he wanted me to be more of a manager-player and we discussed me being manager-player rather than a player-manager. I felt like I had a good season last year. I think I played 40 games, so I’m definitely not ready to, or not needing to pack up [just yet]. My body’s still relatively young — I mean, some people might disagree when they watch me play — but on the whole, there’s some sort of player in there. My first and foremost job is to be a manager of this football club but if the decision is that me being in the team gives us the best chance of winning a game, then I will be in the team. Hopefully, we can get the recruitment correct and the squad correct [so] that it doesn’t rely on a 37-year-old, slow — whatever other words some people have used to describe me — [centre half next season]. I don’t [want to] have to rely on me as much.”

With your position both on and off the pitch, how important are you back room staff when you’re playing?

“It hasn’t been fully finalized yet, but we’ve got Tom Wynter coming in as my assistant manager. Joe Denny is staying on as coach as well. Last year we had Dan Tanner, who’s taken a step back from pitch-side and training area and then we’re hoping to maybe bring another staff member in [during] the next few weeks. Pre-season’s looking to start towards the end of June, so we’ve got a couple of weeks to try and arrange that.”

2024/25 STATS

Liam featured in 40 games for Herne Bay FC during the 2024/25 season. The defender managed to bag one goal in our penultimate away fixture vs Three Bridges.

The skipper had a win record of 12 wins, 10 draws and 17 losses during the campaign. The new boss took control as interim during the final game of the season.

STATS:
Appearances: 40
Goals: 1
Clean Sheets: 9