'I didn't ask for this' - Connell Rawlinson on task at hand as Chester interim boss
Rawlinson will take charge of the Blues for the remainder of this season
Connell Rawlinson already knew the players and the support staff at Chester by the time he walked onto the training pitch at the King George V Community Trust Hub in Blacon on Tuesday morning.
Having signed as a player in the summer of 2024 from Notts County, the 34-year-old former Chester City Academy graduate, who counts The New Saints and Port Vale among his former clubs, has transitioned into a first-team coach with the Blues this past season.
On Saturday, just after watching Chester come from behind to secure a 2-1 win over Spennymoor Town at the Deva Stadium thanks to a Fin Shrimpton brace, Rawlinson was told, like the rest of the staff and players, that Calum McIntyre would be leaving his post as manager with immediate effect.
Rawlinson quickly emerged as the most likely candidate to take the job on an interim basis until the end of the season, with talks taking place throughout the rest of the weekend before being formally announced on Sunday evening.
Tuesday was the first time that Rawlinson would take a training session as boss, albeit a temporary one, and he was tasked with firing up a Blues side, who sit three points outside the National League North play-offs, to take on another play-off chasing side in Darlington at home on Saturday.
