BRIGHTLINGSEA Regent caretaker manager Ryan Salter has confirmed he would like the job full-time.

The R’s are on the lookout for a new boss following James Webster’s decision to step down and take over at Aveley, on Tuesday.

Chairman Terry Doherty says the board are in no rush to name his successor.

They want to take their time to make sure the appointment is right and are holding a meeting tonight to reflect on an eventful week.

Salter has been asked to take the team for tomorrow’s Bostik League premier division clash at home to Tooting and Mitcham United.

And he says going forward, he would love to be installed on a permanent basis.

“I don’t know what the club have in mind but it’s certainly something I’d like to do, without a doubt,” he said.

“I’ve learnt from the best man I could have learnt from and had success as a coach, so I don’t see why I couldn’t do it.

“The one thing that lets me down is my lack of contacts, in terms of bringing players in, but I certainly don’t doubt myself on the training pitch or in terms of what I produce on matchdays.

“Pip (Boyland) will help me with the coaching and (kitman) Alan Wright is crucial, too. He does everything for us and deserves a lot of credit.

“We’ve got a good little team, on the pitch and off it, and hopefully we can stick together.”

While keen to make the most of his opportunity, Salter admits being upset by Webster’s exit.

“I’m absolutely gutted about James leaving,” he said.

“He’s been a mentor for me, in terms of men’s football and non-league football.

“I’ve done the academy stuff but this is completely different.

“James is a great bloke and he’s helped me massively.

“I’ve learnt so much from him.

"I know I can always ring him for advice, opinions and information, though, and I’d love to think we’ll work together again one day.

"I want to keep that relationship going.

“He’s done a phenomenal job here and it’s been tough saying goodbye to him and then trying to get the players ready for tomorrow.

“The boys will miss him sorely because he’s very close to them, hence his success.”

Regent gave Webster a great send-off by winning 2-0 against Kingstonian on Tuesday night.

It continued their strong home form, having won their last four matches at the Taydal Stadium.

They are at home again tomorrow, so will be keen to extend that sequence.

However, Salter admits they have to translate that success to their away games.

“We’re so confident when we’ve got a home game because we’re strong here,” he said.

“We set out to attack and win the game, but we’ve got to change our away form.

“We’re not used to these long coach journeys and it’s taking us out of us, at the moment.

“It’s tough and, unfortunately, you get into a habit of losing.

“I’m a big believer in winning and losing habits and a lot of our success last season came that way, because we went into games feeling so confident we were going to win.

“Now we need to get out of this run of dropping points on our travels and we thought we’d done that on Saturday, when we were leading 3-1 at Thurrock.

“But two goals in the last seven minutes really killed us, after dominating the game.

“To score three goals away from home and only come away with a point was frustrating and it’s something we need to work hard to sort out.”