The?bandana is back at Macc.

Efe Sodje has been named as?John?Askey’s assistant manager and he’s determined to restore the feel-good factor at the Moss?Rose.

Sodje, who netted the first goal for the club after their promotion to the Football?League in 1997, was at the heart of a second successive promotion.

And now that he’s returning as player-assistant manager the Nigerian wants a return to those days.

“It was brilliant to be involved with the team that won promotion and got another one straight away,” he said.

“It was great, even though we were relegated that year, there were some big teams in that division – I think Fulham’s team cost about £9M, while ours was a fraction of that.”

Sammy McIlroy had led Macc to the GM?Vauxhall Conference title and with it promotion to the Football?League, and the scorer of Macc’s historic first goal in their opening-day win over Torquay was Sodje.

That season, Macc reached the third tier of English football, albeit only for the one season, but games against the likes of Manchester City, Fulham, Stoke and Wigan still made it a campaign to remember.

Sodje remains instantly recognisable for the ‘Against All Odds’ bandana he wears, come rain or shine.

And while to outsiders it may be a throwaway motif, to Macc fans it’s become a symbol of the club’s refusal to buckle even when the dice are stacked against them.

“I’ll be back in my bandana – I can’t and won’t hide that,” he added. “I’m happy to be back here, I’ve been doing my badges (the 40-year-old holds a UEFA B licence) and I’ve been doing some coaching at Bury’s Under-15 academy.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do when?I finish playing and when John rang me up and asked me I couldn’t refuse.

“When someone like that – a legend here – asks you then you have to say yes.

“I think it would be difficult for me to be the manager and play, but John is taking care of the management side so I’ll still be playing.”

As for the coming season, Sodje is adamant that promotion is a realistic ambition for the Silkmen, but he says that the backing of the local community is an absolute must.

“We’re going to build from scratch and we’re hoping that local businesses can come in and support us, because people need to get behind their local football club,” he said.

“I’m hoping people can invest in us because the support we received when we got promotion was so important.

“It’s difficult for us, but with that help and support we see promotion as a realistic possibility.”

That’s a sentiment echoed by Askey, who first came to the Moss Rose in the 1980s.

He now faces the prospect of putting together a squad to challenge this season, with other clubs benefiting from a head start this transfer window.

“We’ll be looking to make some signings straight away,” the 48-year-old declared,?“but we won’t be panicking and getting players in just for the sake of bulking up the squad.

“Because of the situation at the club it’s been difficult to put too many plans in place.

“Because I didn’t know I was going to get the job I’ve only been able to draw up a few lists and while I have been speaking to agents and a few players the work really starts now.

“We’re still waiting on the people who have been offered deals at the end of the season, there were so many out of contract, it left us with  four players – Peter Winn, John?Paul?Kissock, Craig Braham-Barrett and James Bolton.

“We’re on a vastly reduced budget but that’s just how it is and we have to deal with it, we just hope people realise the position the club’s in and the situation we find ourselves in.

“It will be tough but we’ll just have to manage on what budget we’ve got.”

The budget – the topic of much speculation – has been at the centre of the delay in naming Askey, a man who was already ‘part of the furniture’ at the Moss Rose, as Steve King’s successor.

A club insider, who wished to remain nameless, told the Express that while Askey was a front-runner for the job, despite high-profile names such as Robbie Fowler also in the frame, it had a huge delaying effect on the announcement, to the tune of nine weeks between King’s departure and Askey taking over on a permanent basis.

“They couldn’t realistically take on a new manager until they knew how the land lay and they could put a playing budget in place for whoever would take on the job,” said the source.

Away from the drawn-out wranglings of this summer Askey is hoping that a new era will bring with it new faces through the gates and the support, in whatever form it comes, will be most welcome at the Moss Rose.

He puts the successes of yesteryear down to locals valuing the club’s place within the community and the support that local businesses and football fans gave willingly.

And both Askey and Sodje are adamant that, with finances stretched, that support is needed now more than ever.

“We’re making a new start and all help is gratefully received, whether it’s through companies sponsoring us, or just  someone giving up a bit of their time to help out, like it used to be when this was a real family club that fans were a big part of.

“There’s been some alienation gone on in recent years and I want a return to those days when everyone was behind their local football club.

“The main thing is that we all need to be pulling together. With everyone behind the football club we can be a success.”