Hopkinson to stay at Eastbourne United after great escape

Eastbourne United manager Arron Hopkinson admits he has no idea how his side managed to escape relegation on the final day of the Southern Combination Premier season.

“I don’t know how we did it,” he admitted. “With less than ten minutes left we were going down. Then everything just flipped on its head. Broadbridge Heath grabbed another couple of goals against Arundel and Newhaven scored a couple of late goals against Shoreham and then we grabbed our winner against Pagham all in the space of five minutes.

“It was a rollercoaster but everything fell into place.

“It’s my first managerial job, so I certainly threw myself in at the deep end but everyone from the chairman to the fans has been brilliant. I think the whole experience of this season is a lesson learnt for the club and I don’t think they’ll be going through that again any time soon.”

Hopkinson has swiftly agreed to stay on as manager next campaign. In a statement on the club’s website, he said: “I’m delighted to be staying. After taking some advice and listening to the club’s plan it wasn’t a hard decision to make.

“I’ve enjoyed my time here so far and I wouldn’t be staying if I didn’t think I could progress the club on the field. “We have to push on from last year and I’ll be making sure we do.”