Jarreau Hayward is looking forward to doing “special things with a special club” as the new head coach of Friendship Trophy champions Dandy Town.

The former St George’s defender and coach has officially succeeded Kyle Lightbourne at the helm after agreeing to the terms of a one-year deal and is proud to have been given the responsibility to lead the team next season.

“I am excited to be a part of the tradition and history of Dandy Town and hopefully continue the legacy,” said Hayward, who served on Lightbourne’s backroom staff last season.

“I just want to thank the executive members and players at Dandy Town for giving me this opportunity and for believing in me. I want to thank Kyle Lightbourne for all his time and effort last season, for all the time, knowledge and wisdom that he invested in me, and I am looking forward to doing special things with a special club.”

Hayward joined Hornets after being replaced as St George’s head coach despite steering the club to their maiden FA Cup title during the 2023-24 campaign. He rejected the chance to remain as part of their coaching programme.

Hayward was happy to reflect upon his first season at a new club.

“I think my last year was a really good learning experience in a different culture,” he said.

“Obviously I’ve been with my mother club [St George’s] for my whole career, so being able to learn and experience a different perspective of football on the island is really positive.”

Hayward’s primary objective is to stabilise the club and implement a firm foundation to build upon.

“Right now the emphasis isn’t necessarily on winning trophies right away, but just stabilising, having a good foundation and building up from there and the rest will take care of itself,” he said.

“Obviously we want to be able to win trophies. But I think right now stabilisation and implementing all of the processes that we are working on is the most important thing. After that we’ll put some pressure on to win trophies. For now we just want to settle things and get things rowing in the right direction.”

Hayward feels he has a good crop of players on his roster but is open to others joining the club during the off season.

“The club is ambitious and that is definitely a big reason why I was honoured and privileged to join,” he said. “Right now we already have a really good team so we’ll just see what the upcoming months have in store for us.”

Town are now exploring their options for a candidate to serve on Hayward’s backroom staff alongside assistant coaches Seion Darrell and Danté Leverock, who also remains active on the pitch as a defender.

“The club and myself are actively looking for one more assistant coach and that’s basically where we are with that,” Hayward said.

Aaron Denkins, the club’s technical chief of football operations, believes that Hayward is the right man for the job.

“We interviewed three of the most talented up-and-coming coaches in the island and it was an exciting process,” Denkins said.

“But Jarreau stood out for a number of reasons and we think that he is the right person to bring stability and to move the club forward in our strategic direction.

“Dandy Town has a DNA and any coach that comes into the club has to understand that and be willing to carry it on, but of course a part of that DNA is being successful.

“Now what success looks like is painted differently and strategically we had to look at what success looks like for the club. So there is a long-term plan and Jarreau fits right in with our strategic direction for success.”

Hornets were forced to look for a new head coach after Lightbourne declined to serve beyond his one-year deal that expired at the end of last season.

Denkins, who served as Lightbourne’s assistant coach at national level, was disappointed to see his former colleague part ways with the club after a season which featured success in the Friendship Trophy.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t say that we were disappointed when Kyle didn’t choose to renew as the head coach because we were doing some good things,” Denkins said.

“He did deliver a trophy which wasn’t in our strategic plan. I am encouraged that Jarreau can step in and can continue on with that. It’s just like our field; it’s a rebuilding process and we will rebuild and be successful.”