Long-term Redbacks coach Gary Wand has stood down from the top job after a 6-1 loss to West Wallsend in round 13 of Northern League One.
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In his sixth year as head coach, Wand decided that a "new voice" was required after the Redbacks turned in their worst performance under his reign at Johnston Park on Sunday, May 21.
It has been a disappointing campaign so far for Thornton, they are last on the ladder with two wins from 12 games.
Wand said it was the right time to move on after he had initially decided to step down at the end of the season.
"I still really want the boys to do well, it's purely a decision made on what's best for the for the team," he said.
"It was something I was going to do for a few weeks now and basically after the debacle against West Wallsend I thought as a coach I think they need a new voice.
"The first-half particularly was probably the worst half that I've had as a coach."
He said the players needed to hear from a new mentor with different ideas. He will continue coaching the club's under-16 side.
Wand will hand the reigns to his assistant coach Nima Nikfarjam. Nikfarjam has coached with Maitland Magpies and Raymond Terrace.
Wand said it is a good time for Nikfarjam to take over.
"At the start of this year he hadn't coached at this level before, he had coached at a higher level and didn't know any of our players, didn't know any of the teams," he said.
"We just didn't think it was fair to throw him in the deep end...It's not a bad time to inherit a team because you can't go any worse."
The Redbacks put in a better showing on Wednesday night at home in a narrow 2-1 loss to ladder-leaders Toronto - Diego Cerda getting the goal for Thornton.
They will look to return to winning ways when the host local rivals and fellow strugglers Cessnock City Hornets on Saturday, May 27 in round 15.
The Hornets (12) and Redbacks (9) occupy the bottom two places on the ladder with Cessnock having played one more game. Thornton took all three points with a 3-1 win when the sides met in round five at Turner Park.
The Hornets will be smarting from 4-0 home defeat against West Wallsend on Wednesday night. Kick-off is at 2.30pm at Thornton Park.
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Ben Carr
Starting out as a reporter in Lightning Ridge in 2005, I returned to journalism in 2023 after 15 years spent in event production and technical services. Passionate about community news, contact me on ben.carr@austcommunitymedia.com.au or ph: 0484 524 000
Starting out as a reporter in Lightning Ridge in 2005, I returned to journalism in 2023 after 15 years spent in event production and technical services. Passionate about community news, contact me on ben.carr@austcommunitymedia.com.au or ph: 0484 524 000
