Haverhill Rovers’ recently reappointed manager Ben Cowling is keen to see the good times return to the club after a few tough years

The returning Ben Cowling is excited by the prospect of being the manager that helps to turnaround Haverhill Rovers’ ailing fortunes.

The last few campaigns have largely been tough going for The New Croft club, who saw their 16-season stay at Step 5 come to an end last term with relegation into the Thurlow Nunn League First Division North.

It came on the back of years of uncertainty, with a number of managers – all of whom had their own ideas and players – coming and going.

Cowling was one of those following an 18-month stint at the helm up until November 2017, but he is hoping that his re-appointment sparks the end of the revolving door policy.

The former Rovers defender has replaced Ryan Gibbs after the club decided to part company with the player-boss just six matches into his reign.

And Cowling’s second spell got off to a positive start on Saturday courtesy of a 5-2 home win – Haverhill’s second victory of the season – at the expense of FC Peterborough.

Cowling, who recently saw his successful five-year spell as Lakenheath manager come to an end, said: “If you look at what has happened at the club over the last five or six years, it’s safe to say it’s not gone very well.

“From the outside looking in, it seems like the club has gone from one crisis to another. They’ve had a reprieve from relegation a couple of times and it’s now caught up with them.

“I’ve come in with the club sitting around 18th in the First Division North and that’s got to be the lowest it’s been in two or three generations.

“To be honest, a week or 10 days ago, this job wasn’t even on my radar. But Ryan (Churcher, interim chairman) got in touch and we had a conversation. I’ve known Ryan a long time, he explained the set-up with the new committee that’s coming in and these are people that have Haverhill Rovers at heart.

“It gives me some confidence that things will be better after what has been pretty much 10 years or so of a revolving door.

“It's going to take some time and there is a three-year plan to get everything back on track.

“I played most of my senior football in Haverhill, I went to school there and I’ve lived just outside it for pretty much all my life. The club does mean a lot to me and we’ll work hard to hopefully turn things around and deliver a level of football that the club should have.”

Ahead of the weekend’s win, Cowling and his assistant Martin Westcott made six new additions, which included the return to Rovers of Ryan Weaver.

The attacker left the club in the summer to link up with fellow New Croft tenants Haverhill Borough, but he was back in the red shirt at the weekend.

Cowling added: “I was really keen to work with Ryan again. He’s someone I’ve worked with since he was 16 or 17 and we have a good relationship.

“His work rate and energy is second to none and he’ll bring so much positivity and structure to the squad we’re looking to build.

“He’s been very loyal to Haverhill football over the years and he’s seen a lot of things happen over the years.

“It would be great for him if he could be a part of more positive times for the club – he deserves it.”

The clash with FC Peterborough was chaotic at times, with Cowling still trying to acquaint himself with the players that he has inherited from the previous regime.

Nevertheless, the three points has provided him and the new group with a platform to build from.

“We’d had just one training session with the group and we signed six players to help us,” he said.

“We’re still assessing the whole group and we’ll probably be adding a couple more at some stage this week.

“It was a very positive result and a good starting point.

“Truth be told it could have been something like 10-5, but the three points are important and we can move on from there.”

Rovers will be at home again on Saturday when they play host to Leiston Under-23s (3pm).