Danny Thompson: ‘Chance to join Shaun Wilkinson at Baffins was too good to turn down’

Wilkinson has moved quickly to appoint Thompson as his assistant just a few days after replacing Steve Leigh as Baffins Milton manager.

The pair had previously worked together at Privett Park in 2017 when Wilkinson was appointed Alex Pike’s assistant at the same time Thompson was first team coach.

It was a brief period together – Wilkinson was brought in in January of that year but left two months later due to work commitments.

‘I’ve worked with Shaun before but I’ve known him for a long time,’ said Thompson, who quit as manager of Hampshire Premier League club Infinity last month.

In his first season at the club, he had taken them to the top of the Senior Division table on the back of a 24-game unbeaten league run.

Previously, Thompson had managed at Fleetlands in 2018/19 - inheriting a team that had finished fourth bottom the previous season in the HPL top flight and finishing fifth top.

‘I’ll be honest, I would have liked to have gone somewhere as my own man, but I’ve got a lot of time for Shaun and this was too good an opportunity to turn down.’ Thompson added.

‘The chairman (Steve Cripps) at Baffins is really ambitious, he wants to get into the Southern League within two years.

‘The infrastructure there is great, and with the squad Shaun and I will put together these are exciting times for the club.

‘We’re both signing from the same hymn sheet and this is a really good opportunity to do something.’