Hawks boss Doswell pits wits against youngest manager in top seven tiers of English football

Doswell takes his National League South title challengers to Kent to face 16th-placed Dover Athletic.

Dover this week confirmed the Mitch Brundle - who only celebrated his 28th birthday last month - will replace Andy Hessenthaler on a permanent basis.

Hessenthaler returned to Gillingham earlier this month as head of recruitment, on the same day the League 2 strugglers announced ex-Pompey boss Kenny Jackett as their director of football.

Brundle has taken charge of three NL South games on a caretaker basis so far.

He lost his first game 1-0 at rock bottom Hungerford before ex-Hawks striker Alfie Pavey scored in a 1-0 home victory over Taunton Town.

In his last match, Dover only lost 2-1 at home to table-topping Ebbsfleet last Saturday when Rakish Bingham converted an 86th minute penalty.

Brundle helped Farnborough to promotion to the NL South last season, via the Southern League play-offs, before returning to Dover - where he had previously played - to become Hessenthaler’s player/assistant manager.

Brundle is younger than the youngest manager in Premier League history - Ryan Mason was 29 years and 10 months old when he took caretaker charge of Tottenham in April 2021.

Former Pompey defender Eddie Howe was 31 when he took over AFC Bournemouth in January 2009 with the Cherries among the favourites to be relegated from League 2.

Hawks were left inactive last weekend when their scheduled league trip to Farnborough was postponed due to the cold weather.

Doswell said the call off ‘wasn’t the worst thing in the world’ as captain Joe Oastler would have missed the game with a back injury.

The fixture would also have come too soon for another centre half, Joash Nembhard, who has been back in training after suffering a broken bone in his foot in the mid-October FA Cup loss to Weymouth.

Hawks could hand debuts to two new signings at Dover, with Chelsea loanee Teddy Sharman-Lowe definitely set to play in goal.

The England under-19 international has been recruited for the remainder of the season after Brad House was recalled by Sutton United.

Doswell has also signed Hampton & Richmond midfielder Tyrell Miller-Rodney, a player he has long admired.

He put in a seven days notice of approach after learning that manager Gary McCann had left Hampton earlier this month.

‘I must have spoken to Gary about ‘T’ (Miller-Rodney) every year since I’ve been here,’ said Doswell.

‘I thought his loyalties would be to Gary so that’s why I put in the seven days.

‘We sold the project to him and it’s a big signing in terms of where we are at this time of the season.

‘The pitches can be difficult in January, February, March time and T has great legs, great energy, he can run over 11k per game, and he’s got great pace.

‘At 28 he’s a fantastic age as well.’

Following the trip to Dover, Hawks are away again next Tuesday, at St Albans City.

Miller-Rodney then has a reunion with his former Hampton colleagues at Westleigh Park on January 28.

Three days later Hawks visit Taunton - a club well behind with their NL South fixtures - before going to Ebbsfleet for a mouthwatering top of the table clash on February 4.

Brundle, meanwhile, might be the youngest boss in the top six tiers, but he’s by no means the youngest in the entire non-league pyramid.

That honour goes to Sam Mould, who was appointed boss of Northern Premier League Midlands Division side Yaxley recently.

The 20-year-old took on the role after Yaxley had picked up just a single point from 22 league matches in the eighth tier.

The change seems to have had the desired effect - Mould picked up his first win last weekend when the Cuckoos defeated Harborough Town 3-1.