John Dempster ready for management and vowing to repay Mansfield Town’s faith in him

A proud John Dempster said he was ready for his first senior management role and desperate to repay Mansfield Town Football Club for all the opportunities they have given him.
John Dempster, Mansfield Town manager.John Dempster, Mansfield Town manager.
John Dempster, Mansfield Town manager.

Dempster was yesterday offered the chance to move up from academy manager to take over the first team after David Flitcroft was sacked and jumped at this latest opportunity to move his career forward.

“It is an absolute honour and I am really grateful for the opportunity,” he smiled.

“One thing I can guarantee is I will grab it with both hands and give it my best shot.

“It’s a proud day for me and I will do my utmost to progress this football club.”

Dempster arrived as a player on loan from Crawley in 2011 and, having helped the club to win promotion back into the Football League, was given a place on the coaching staff, moving on to manage the club academy and take his coaching badges.

So things have gone full circle for him and he said: “It’s been an incredible journey and one I want to continue.

“I am really grateful to this football club for giving me the opportunities they have from signing on loan as a player up until now.

“Becoming a first team manager is not been something I’ve though too much about as I have been busy with the academy – going from player to coach to academy manager.

“I’ve had my hands full starting the academy from scratch and it’s something I’ve given everything to. This new role is something I will also give my all to.”

But he said this now feels like the right time to make the step up.

“I am ready. How I have developed over the last four years has been incredible and I owe that to the club.

“They put me through my qualifications, left me to do my job, supported me when I’ve needed it, and I feel like I owe them.

“Sometimes people can disrespect the academy manager role. There is a lot to it and a lot of different problems thrown at you.

“I owe the chairman and Carolyn for this latest opportunity. The board have always been supportive of me and I intend to pay them all back.”