John Askey will take over as Macclesfield manager next season – and his first signing is another Moss Rose legend, Efe Sodje.
The pair played together during the club’s ‘golden era’ when Sammy McIlroy was in charge.
And now that Askey’s ambition – to construct a team to challenge for promotion back to League Two –has been realised, he’s got the backing of a fellow Macc legend and one of the most popular defenders to ply his trade on the Moss Rose.
“I’m really pleased to have got Efe on board,” he told the Express. “To have him back at the club is really exciting.
“We want him to be back playing, because he’s always kept himself very fit, he’s got a great attitude and I’m hoping it will rub off on other players.
“It’s not often you’re able to bring a World Cup player in to a club like Macclesfield (Sodje represented Nigeria in the 2002 World Cup), so I’m really pleased to have him on board.”
Askey did take over for his second caretaker stint following the sacking of Steve King at the start of April, when it became clear that the play-offs would be out of reach.
Although Askey couldn’t turn around their fortunes, he says he was unable to move players in or out – or even promote from within the youth squad wuith which he was so familiar.
He made no secret of his desire to be given a chance to build his own team and be competitive in the Conference, and he added:?“It’s something I’ve wanted for years, I’ve done just about every other job at the club, so it’s nice to be given a chance, hopefully I’ll be able to repay the club’s faith in me.
“I want to get people enjoying football at Macclesfield Town again.
“I know it’s not going to be easy but we’ve been left with a bit of a blank canvas so we’ll deal with it.”
