AS soon as Jody Bevan heard that Chris Smith had also declared an interest in becoming the new manager of Fairford Town, he suggested to chairman Stuart Pike that the two of them should work together.

Bevan, a legend in the Southern League having played 600 plus games and scored more than 250 goals, was appointed to his first full managerial role on Tuesday – in tandem with his old mucker Smith.

And the split role, with both parties having an equal say, is not as unusual as you might think.

It works well at Salford City, the club part-owned by the Manchester United Class of 92 including Phil Neville and Paul Scholes who have just missed out on their third straight promotion, and also for Slough Town who lost in last season’s Southern Premier play-off semi-final to Leamington.

“When I talked to Stuart I said the job would be much more appealing if I could work alongside an experienced manager,” said Bevan.

“I know that ‘Smudge’ ticks the boxes where I have weaknesses and vice versa “We are not too bothered about job titles and are just happy to be working together again. We have already discussed how we are going to handle it if a squad member tries to play one of us off against the other.

“We both have full time jobs and the game is so competitive these days even at Hellenic level that it makes sense to share the load. It seems to work well enough at Salford City and Slough Town.”

Bevan also revealed that his happiest and most successful times as a player have been when he worked previously with Smith.

“I played some of the most prolific football of my career when he took temporary charge for about four months at Weston-super Mare before Frank Gregan took over,” he said.

“And again we worked together at Gloucester City when he was assistant to Tim Harris. Every time I have worked with Smudge I have loved the training and he is straight down the line as a bloke.”

A long-time stalwart at the Corinium Stadium, Bevan was briefly made caretaker manager at Cirencester Town on the sacking of Brian Hughes and it gave him an insight into the challenges and frustrations of being a manager.

“In hindsight, what I realised was that I was totally burnt out after 20 years playing in the Southern League and I should have severed ties and had some time away from the game before going into coaching,” said Bevan.

“In truth it is the management side that excites me and when Stuart said he was after a manager rather than a coach that was music to my ears.

“I like to think I can motivate players to get a performance.”

Bevan is quick to acknowledge his fortune in getting a first managerial post at Fairford Town, a club on the up after a runaway promotion to the Hellenic Premier.

“Usually new managers come in and are fighting fires straight away,” said Bevan, “but we are picking up on the great job done by Gareth Davies.

“Smudge and I have not had the chance to talk to the players yet but they won the league and scored 130 goals last season so I don’t think there will be wholesale changes.

“I spoke to Mark Pritchett (former Ciren team-mate now manager of Hellenic side Tuffley Rovers) and he was very complimentary about the Fairford Town side.

“I only know one of the players personally, Josh Morse, having played with him when he was with the Cirencester Town Development side, and I know what a talent he is.

“And I have happy memories of Cinder Lane as I won a cup final on the ground when I was with Shortwood.

“With our experience in the game, Smudge and I know what it takes to develop a team at a higher level and organise them. We can’t wait to get started.”