THE manager set to take charge of a reformed Salisbury City FC says he’s itching to make a return to the hot-seat but has stressed that the club needs to be ultra cautious where finances are concerned.

Pompey legend and TV pundit Steve Claridge was unveiled as the club’s new manager last week after a bid to buy its assets was approved.

The 48-year-old former pro, who has had managerial stints at Portsmouth, Millwall and Weymouth, is eager to get a phoenix club up-and-running.

He will manage the new team as well as giving his input into how the club should be run off the pitch.

“We have to be careful the way we run this,” Claridge said. “We have the responsibility to leave a legacy, for the next people who come along, which says we did all right and not leave this club in the state other people in the past have done.

“People have to learn to say no in football.

“Sometimes you just cannot have what you want at a football club. I’m not afraid to say no and we’ll work together. If it’s feasible and if we can do it, we will, and if we can’t, we can’t.

“There won’t be any bargaining, we’ll just say no.”

Claridge and the group are now focusing on entering a team into a league and establishing a new lease at the Ray Mac.

Agreeing on a realistic budget is also high on the agenda.

Claridge added: “We need to do a deal with the trustees and find a league to play in.

Whatever we get is going to be a bonus.

“Southern League or Wessex Premier – I think when you look at other precedents that’s what you have to do and we’ll work to that brief.

“The major issue is that we start playing football back at this place and provide entertainment on a Saturday afternoon.

“We’re all realistic on what we can do, but the budget will depend on how many people we get through the turnstiles.

“The more people who come through the turnstiles, the more money will go back into the football club.

“There’s no one on this board who is looking to make a penny out of this club. We’re all here to try and make a success of it in our own way and for our own different reasons.

“Every sausage roll, programme, cup of tea which is bought, I can promise you now the profit on that will go straight back into the club and go towards improving the facilities and playing side of it.”

Apart from being a pundit on BBC local radio and regularly appearing on the BBC’s Football League show, Claridge still wants to be screaming tactics from the touchline.

“I don’t know about anyone else but there isn’t a lot else to do on a Saturday afternoon,” he said.

“The other day I went and bought a TV with my missus and I lasted about 20 minutes.

“I had to go home – it’s just not right not being at the football on a Saturday afternoon.”

He added: “Because of the three or four weeks I spent at the club in the summer, I was taken by the wonderful people here at the stadium.

“There were 12 volunteers here the day I turned up, the place looked absolutely immaculate.

“You’ve got all the facilities you could ever want.

“OK, we need to find some training facilities, but within here we have everything to have a real good go.”