Former Athlone Town player Anthony Hayes is ready to “give everything” as caretaker boss of League One side Charlton Athletic.
The Athlone native will take charge of the first-team in Wednesday night's FA Cup second round replay at Stockport County, alongside Under-18 coach Jason Pearce and goalkeeping coach Glyn Shimell.
It’s the latest step in the rise of the highly-rated coach. Only last summer he was promoted to the first-team coaching staff, a year after he was named head-coach of the Under-23 side.
Hayes joined the club in 2016, where he began to coach in the Addicks’ academy system.
Charlton are on the lookout for a permanent replacement for Ben Garner, who lost his job after last week’s defeat to Cheltenham.
Until they make that appointment, Hayes will take charge of the first-team.
He said: “My complete focus is on trying to help the players and giving them real clarity in how we want to look with and without the ball. That’s my first and foremost priority.
“Of course though, this is a massive football club, I have been here quite a few years now.
“I understand how big it is in the community and what it means to the fans, so of course in the time that I am doing this job I will give everything I can to make sure the team is successful.”
Hayes paid tribute to outgoing manager Garner, saying: “I’d like to recognise what a top fella Ben Garner is. How good he has been for me and with me since I have joined the management team.
“He was obviously desperate for the club to succeed and completely dedicated in trying to achieve that.
“It is obviously the horrible part of this industry, something we are all aware of.
“Like time, nothing stands still, we have to move forward as a football club and we have to prepare for (Wednesday's) game as best we can.”
Hayes, whose dad Seamus also lined out for Athlone Town, completed his UEFA Pro Licence last Sunday.
He added: “I started back in 2005, it has been 17 years.
“A lot of blood, sweat and tears have gone into me trying to refine my craft and understand this game that we all love and teach it really effectively.
“It is a very proud milestone for myself but in a situation like this, it is not about me, it is about helping this group of players and preparing them.
“We want to go up to Stockport, be as competitive as we can and progress into the third round.”
Hayes also worked as a coach for Brentford, before moving to Charlton. He secured a business degree at TUS, formerly Athlone Institute of Technology.
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