Mildenhall Town manager Phil Weavers decides time is right for Josh Pope to leave Isthmian League North Division club

Mildenhall Town manager Phil Weavers has decided that the time is right to let goalkeeper Josh Pope leave the club.

The experienced goalie is a hugely popular figure at The Riverside Stadium having spent 14 seasons over two separate spells with Mildenhall, during which time he lifted two Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division titles and a pair of League Challenge Cups.

Pope also won the Supporters’ Player of the Year award in 2024/25 as Weavers’ side successfully preserved their Isthmian League North Division status following the previous campaign’s promotion.

However, with other senior players also moving on this summer, Weavers has made the ‘hardest decision’ of his managerial career. He did offer Pope the opportunity to become a goalkeeping coach at the club, but with the 36-year-old keen to continue playing on a regular basis next term, a parting of the ways has been reached.

Weavers explained: “Firstly this is nothing to do with goalkeeping. When I took over three years ago we had goals to achieve and we’ve achieved them. We wanted to build a squad that was capable of going up and staying up, which we’ve done.

“It’s been a strange feeling over the last few months. I actually questioned my own future for a while because it felt like the end of an era in many ways with Luke Butcher retiring, Olly Hughes moving on and Simon Swinton suffering his injury. Along with Popey, they were the four senior players in the dressing room.

“But with those three gone, I just felt we needed a fresh start and a shake up of the dressing room. We could have done it gradually, but I felt it was better to do it all in one go with Butch, Hughesy and Swints also not being around. It’s been my hardest decision as a manager because I consider Popey a friend, he’s been the best goalkeeper I’ve ever played with and he’s one of the nicest blokes I’ve ever played football with.

“I’ve apologised to him because he’s suffered the consequences of a decision that I’ve made for what I believe is the good of the squad going forward. I’d rather make a decision and get it wrong then regret not making a decision at all. You live and die by your decisions as a manager and unfortunately it’s Popey that has paid the price this time.

“This summer is about putting together a squad that can kick on with new objectives and to achieve that we need to freshen it up. It’s going to be time for others in the group to step up and obviously we’ll be looking to add a few players as well.

“My one regret is the timing because we weren’t able to celebrate what he has done for the club like we did with Butch retiring. He deserves that because of the legacy he has at the club and once he’s sorted himself with a new club we’d love to sort out something retrospectively. What he’s done for me and the club will never be forgotten.”