‘Everyone’s got a clean slate’ – director of football Mark Molesley begins Gosport Borough career with crucial Southern League win against Tiverton

The former Weymouth, Southend and Aldershot manager was unveiled at Privett Park last week.

That followed the decision to sack boss Shaun Gale after a dire sequence of results had seen Boro - who were expecting to challenge for the play-offs - tumble down the seventh tier table.

There’s no decision yet on who Gale’s replacement will be, with Molesley overseeing first team duties and trying to soak up as much information as he can as quickly as he can.

Boro last week parted company with caretaker manager Ben Kneller and coach Jake Wigley, leaving goalkeeping coach Steve Manning to provide some continuity.

Molesley had been a more than interested spectator at Yate Town the previous weekend, when Boro took a first-minute lead before losing 5-4 - their ninth loss in 10 league fixtures. And the one game they didn’t lose saw them equalise in the 89th minute against Dorchester.

Switching to a 3-4-3 formation, the Molesley era got off to a superb start with goals from Brett Williams and Dan Wooden giving Boro a 2-1 Privett Park win against seventh-placed Tiverton at the weekend.

That success - only the club’s second in the league since August - lifted Boro up to sixth from bottom, a rise of three places, though several of the clubs below them still have games in hand.

Molesley told The News: ‘We have to try and build strong foundations and build confidence, and the only way you can do that is by winning games.

‘We were good value for the win. You could see afterwards that the players had left everything on the pitch.

‘I did change a few things but it was all down to the players, they are the ones that deserve the credit, not me.

‘I’m not really interested in how we play, I’m interested in their attitudes and their mentality.

‘Everyone’s got a clean slate, I will take them as I find them. There’s an opportunity for everyone.’

Molesley’s next two league games are also against top 10 sides - a trip to Merthyr this weekend followed by a home clash with table-topping Weston-super-Mare on December 17.

Before that, though, Boro host Hampshire Premier Leaguers Clanfield on Wednesday in the Portsmouth Senior Cup.

Rather than seeing the tie against a team four tiers lower in the pyramid as an unwanted distraction from plotting Southern League survival, Molesley welcomes the chance to see more of the club’s players in competitive action.

‘There’s plenty of potential in the squad,’ he remarked. ‘But they’re in the relegation fight for a reason, you can’t hide away from that. It’s not as if we’ve only played a few games.

‘We have a good group, a great set of lads, but now is the time to roll our sleeves up and work hard.’

Molesley, 41, made his management name at Weymouth, overseeing back-to-back promotions that returned the Dorset club to the National League in the summer of 2000.

His work with the Terras won him the chance to manage Southend United, newly relegated from League One, but he was sacked in April 2021 with the Essex club en route to another demotion, this time into non-league football.

Molesley was appointed Aldershot manager in September 2001, a role which ended with his departure 13 months later following an FA Cup loss to lower tier Chelmsford.

He wasn’t out of the game for long, though – a matter of only six weeks.

‘I see this is a really exciting project,’ he remarked of his arrival at Privett Park. ‘I was enthused by the chairman (Iain McInnes) and his passion. He wants to build a community club.

‘Off the pitch is fantastic - the youth section, the feed a family scheme. Hopefully I can help in any way I can.

‘It’s certainly a challenge, that’s why I wanted to get involved.’

Regarding a possible replacement for Gale, Molesley added: ‘There’s certainly no rush. We need the right person with the right skillset that adds value.

‘At the moment I’m in assessment mode.’

Former Boro players Pat Suraci and Joe Lea - currently joint-managers of Wessex League club Petersfield - have been helping Molesley out with midweek training.

Molesley plans to train on Tuesday and Thursday as usual this week, even though there is the Clanfield cup tie in between.