'Breathe, eat, sleep, repeat' - Chester management team outline 'full-time' vision
The Seal spoke to Phil Parkinson and Neil Sorvel after a week in the new job
Phil Parkinson knows what it takes to transition a football team from part-time to full-time.
At Altrincham, the 45-year-old had overseen the Robins’ rise from the Northern Premier League to the National League across an eight-year spell, a period when the club made the move to a full-time setup that Parkinson felt was crucial to the club’s ability to compete at a higher level.
The new Chester boss, a week into his new role alongside assistant manager Neil Sorvel, wants to bring what worked at Moss Lane to the Deva Stadium, although he acknowledges that it is something that will take time.
Chester operate a ‘hybrid’ model. They train days twice in the week at the King George V Sports Hub in Blacon, and they pay 44-week contracts instead of 52-week contracts. For the coming season, the latter part of that model will remain, as the budget does not presently allow for the club to go beyond that if they are to be able to secure the calibre of players required.
