Westfield’s new joint player-managers Luke Elliott and Andy Crossley have set out their vision for the club.

The duo were appointed by the Yellas last month after former manager Ian Selley resigned and was swiftly unveiled as the new manager at Leatherhead.

Westfield enjoyed a successful 2023-24 season, finishing in fifth place to secure a place in the Isthmian League South Central Division play-offs. The Yellas also claimed silverware with victory against Badshot Lea in the Aldershot Senior Cup final.

Elliott and Crossley – who were both part of last season’s squad – are hoping to build on last season’s success after taking up their first football management role.

The pair have wasted no time building their squad for next season, with seven key players – Lewis Jackson, Theo White, Sam Balogun, Quincy Rowe, Caleb Wright, Manolis Gogonas and Billy Nutbeam – agreeing to stay at the club since the duo’s appointment.

Elliott and Crossley have also added two new faces to their squad. Former Westfield player John Adebiyi is returning to the Yellas after a spell at Kingstonian last season, and the club have also announced the signing of Jack Beadle.

“We’ve got such a good group here so it was a priority to keep the group together,” said Crossley. “Getting those seven key players retained is massive for us.

“We had a good season last season and we want to build on that next season. It’s great to bring John back to the club, and having played against Jack plenty of times I know what he will give us.

“My phone and Luke’s phone haven’t stopped ringing since we were appointed. It’s important to speak to people and get things tied up for next season.

“We’ll be back for pre-season on June 25 and we’ve got some good pre-season friendlies lined up against Step 2, Step 3, Step 4 and Step 5 opposition.

“We’re looking forward to getting on the grass and getting our ideas across. Without giving too much away we would like to get the ball down and play where possible. We’ve got some good ball players but we’ve also got good physicality in the team. Some teams in our league are quite direct and others like to play a possession game, so you need that blend of qualities.

“The league is looking stronger this year with Hayes & Yeading United, Kingstonian and Harrow Borough coming down and Farnham Town coming up. There are some big budgets in this league. We’re certainly not up there with our budget, but we’re looking forward to the challenge.

“It was a shock when Ian left, but myself and Luke had been thinking about going into management in the next couple of years so we decided to put our names forward to the club. Thankfully for us they have given us this opportunity.

“We’re still players as well as managers, but there will be times when we don’t play. No player should be playing more than 50 games a season.”

Elliott added: “We’ve got such a good changing room here – what we’ve built is special. There is a family feel to this club and we want to repay the club for their support.”