After a full and frank review of the 2024/25 season, FC Isle of Man is happy to confirm Paul Jones will continue as first-team manager into next season.
The decision follows extensive discussions between Paul, the board. These discussions also included the playing squad which indicated a unanimous vote of confidence in his leadership.
Chairman Gill Christian and Vice Chairman and Director of Football Lee Dixon and the board emphasised the importance of stability for the club’s future.
Gill Christian stated: “We met with Paul this week and had a really helpful discussion. We obviously shared our disappointment with him in terms of the league position, and he is also disappointed, but we’ve talked about his plans for the future, and we’re confident that he can turn that around.
“The board’s decision was that we’ve got every confidence that we need to stick with Paul, and that, for the club and the players, stability is the way forward.”
Lee Dixon added: “I spoke to a lot of the players to get feedback from them, and it was unanimous from the players’ side that they want Paul in charge. Obviously, that has to be a factor in driving our decision, because ultimately, they’re the ones who go in the changing room, they’re the ones who train and travel with the team.
“They all wanted Paul to stay on to give them a chance to turn around what they feel they’ve maybe not done so well this year as a group. In terms of the players, I know from quite a lot of them that they feel like they’ve let him down a little bit this season.”
Gill and Lee said this season has been a reality check for the whole club, given the effect that injuries, travel fatigue, and recruitment limitations have had on FC Isle of Man.
Lee said: “At Christmas, we were right where we wanted to be—in the play offs—and everything was heading in the right direction. For many reasons outside of everybody’s control—lack of availability, injuries, the amount of travel—we just feel like we’re not a million miles away.
Maybe with a little bit more luck at the right times of the season, we could be in a very different position.
Gill added: “It’s no normal club, with the travel and the commitment on the players and the fact thatwe’re in a limited pool of players as well. So I think we’ve got to be patient with the manager and the players to help them get it right.”
Looking ahead, the board has expressed optimism for a refreshed approach.
Lee said: “I think the outcome of the open and frank discussions we’ve had is that Paul recognises that maybe we have to tweak our style of play.
“I think there’s a natural progression with that, with things that are coming up in the summer and players that will be available next year and players that won’t be. So hopefully, going forward, we’ll see a little bit more of a dynamic style of play, albeit with some of the stability that Paul’s brought to the table since he’s been running the team with his coaching staff.
“All in all, we’re not overly happy, Paul’s not overly happy, and I’m sure the fans aren’t overly happy. But we just feel that we need to go into next season with something nice, bright, fresh, and a positive outlook on it.”
Gill added: “I think the first season was just a dream season, and then we thought we’d continue that. But actually, we’re in a harder league, we’ve got more games, and the toll that takes and the knock-on effect—I think we’ve really overestimated how well we can do, and we’ve had a bit of a reality check.
“That’s not to say we don’t want to do better—of course we do, and we should be doing better, and we’re capable of doing better.
“Now that we’ve made the decision to stick with Paul, Lee will go away and have a chat with him, and then we’ll set our expectations before we start the season.”
