Andrews believes he has struck gold in appointing new boss Tom

And he insists it would have been a "disservice" to his young players if the club had installed a manager who would bring in his own personnel.

The club received applications from "well-known managers from the local scene" following David Coyle's resignation at the start of May.

However, Andrews says that would not have been the right route to go down, given the talented young players coming through the system.

“We felt strongly that we needed a coach, rather than an out-and-out manager," he said.

“We’ve already got a lot of very talented group of young players – we just need someone to guide them and get the best out of them.

“And having spent so much time and energy building up our youth system, we’d have been doing them a disservice to appoint a manager who would bring in a load of his own players.

“We had a couple of well-known managers from the local scene apply for the job and they both said about the contacts they had.

“They even showed us their phones with all the players’ names and numbers.

“But we felt it was important to stick to our principles and would rather see where we end up with a team featuring eight or nine Clacton players.

“I’d prefer to finish fourth from bottom with a local, home-grown team than fourth-top with a side of mercenaries from left, right and centre.

“Don’t get me wrong, it was a tough decision.

“I thought long and hard about it and took advice from people I really respect.

“I wavered and was unsure for about a week, given the quality we’d lost in people like Aaron (Condon) and Kevin (Coyle) – two players who, together, would contribute about 50 goals.

“They’re key players in important areas and I did question whether it was the right time to try and replace them with players from outside the area.

“But this is the town’s football team and, in my opinion, it needs to be made up of the town’s best players."

Andrews says that after careful consideration, the decision to appoint Gooder became a "no-brainer".

That was brought home to him after the club's recent youth awards day.

“It was hammered home to me that day, when we had around 1,000 people - young players, their families and friends - in our marquee at the Bowl," he said.

“There was so much potential there and it made me realise that it was a no-brainer to go down this route.

“We have to develop the talent from within and give others a chance to step up to the plate.

“With that in mind, Tom’s a perfect fit and I know we’ve appointed the right man.”

Clacton have thee pre-season friendlies lined up, beginning with a trip to Cornard United on Thursday, July 7.

They then make the short trip to Brightlingsea Regent on Tuesday, July 19 before visiting Essex and Suffolk Border League side Little Oakley on Saturday, July 23.