SAMMY MOORE says he is more than happy to reel in his old Football League friends to get Leatherhead on the march next season.
Moore, the former AFC Wimbledon and Dover midfielder, is the Tanners new boss after Jimmy Bullard stood down and he is settling in nicely.
If his first few signings are anything to go by, they are in for a treat at Fetcham Grove next season.
Jack Midson, who played with Moore in League Two with the Dons three years ago, was their marquee new addition last week. The striker left Braintree Town last month and the pair run a successful soccer school together.
Then former Southend United defender Sean Clohessy joined after he and Moore became friends at troubled Leyton Orient last year.
The novice manager has also signed Woking's talented attacker Chike Kandi and another former team-mate in Lee Minshull, who arrives from Bromley.
Moore is taking his first steps into management after leaving Orient and he's already making a big impression. Not only are the Surrey club getting a manager, they are getting a top midfielder too.
He has vowed to give it all he has got and will still lace up his boots in the Ryman Premier.
Moore, 29, said: “I can't wait to get going, management has always interested me. I've got a good contacts book and I'm ready to use it. We're excited by who we've bought to the club – and there's more to come.”
Moore has no doubt that giving up the pro game even before his 30th birthday is the right decision.
“This is the natural next step for me,” he added. “I'll be keeping my boots on too as player-manager and I'm relishing what's ahead. The chairman is putting his faith in me and I want to repay that by aiming for the play-offs.”
But one player Leatherhead must do without is Chris Parr, the defender is dropping down a division to work with Gary Alexander at Greenwich Borough.
