A NEW man at the helm needs to be Tenbury Town’s top summer priority, says joint player-manager Dean Morris after seeing his side virtually wrap up Herefordshire Premier survival.

Town won 4-2 at Hinton on Saturday thanks to a brace from Alex Bright plus efforts from Declan Bright and substitute Rory Noble.

The victory was only Town’s fifth win league win of the season but banished any lingering fears of the drop as they should finish fourth from bottom.

It has been a tumultuous campaign for the club with two managers – Darren Worthington and Jack Moran – stepping down during the season.

Morris and Matt Clifford have twice taken over as joint player-bosses but the former says the club needs stability with a permanent gaffer next term.

Morris said: “We were expecting to be where we are in the table – we were never going to be mid-table or any higher.

“All things considered, the season has been all right and we’ve had a good laugh along the way.

“It’s been difficult with managers coming and going and different people taking charge.

“It’s not ideal having to have two players run it, manage the team and play at the same time.

“I know it’s a job no one wants to do at the end of the day because it’s a lot of time and commitment to give up.

“So we’ve had to make it work between ourselves and it has, to be fair.

“But we need someone for next year, we do need someone to step forward and say they want to do it. That’s what we will be sorting out over the summer.”

Town stormed into a 3-0 lead at Hinton last weekend and held off a fightback from the hosts before Noble sealed a 4-2 triumph.

They faced a double-header with local rivals Orleton Colts this week (last night and tomorrow) before a visit to Ledbury on Saturday and rounding the season off with a derby against Tenbury United a week later.

Morris added: “I think that win on Saturday puts us safe now. We have Orleton home and away this week so if we win one of those, I don’t think we can finish any lower than fourth bottom.

“It does put your mind at rest but I think if we doubled our points total, we wouldn’t be any higher because there’s quite a big gap to the next team.

“It would be nice to get six points from Orleton. After that, Ledbury are beatable and then it’s nice to finish with the derby on the last day of the season.”

Elsewhere in the Herefordshire top-flight, Tenbury United claimed a comfortable 4-1 derby win at Orleton to maintain their grip on third place.

Mark Boucker bagged a brace for United, while Rob Hill and Jordan Morris also found the net.

United have no game this weekend and will round their season off with the derby at home to Tenbury Town on Saturday, May 12.