HEYBRIDGE Swifts have had interest from some “familiar names” in their vacant manager’s role.

But the Scraley Road club have stressed they will not make a “knee-jerk” appointment in their search for Cliff Akurang’s successor.

Akurang was sacked as Heybridge boss last week, following a disappointing start to the new Ryman League North season.

And Swifts, who have placed Mark Ashford in temporary charge of first-team affairs, are yet to formally advertise the manager’s position.

But they say they have already received plenty of enquires about the role.

A club spokesperson said: “Some of the names we’ve received interest from are familiar ones in non-league football.

“There’s been a lot of contact and it shows that the position is one that people are genuinely interested in.

“Our league position might not be as we would like but I think people recognise the club is one that would be an exciting one to manage. We haven’t advertised the position yet – we have the option of sticking with our caretaker manager or advertising it.”

Swifts, who host Essex neighbours Thurrock on Saturday, were knocked out of the FA Cup at the first-qualifying round stage by Uxbridge last weekend.

They are currently languishing near the foot of the table with just one league win to their name.

The club spokesperson added: “We’d like to get things sorted but I don’t think there’s a huge rush.

“There’s no point in us making a knee-jerk appointment or decision.

“We’d like some continuity and to build a solid foundation, in addition to improve our league position.

“We only have four points from a possible 21 so far and it’s been our worst start for a while, so that is the priority. We have a period coming up where we’ve lost a few games due to postponements, which will allow us some time.

“We’ve got an FA Trophy game coming up on October 3 and it would be good to have someone in place permanently by then.”