Following weeks of speculation regarding his future, Kevin Nicholson yesterday penned a three-year contract as Torquay United manager.
After being 12 points adrift as recently as mid-February, Nicholson led the Gulls to safety with two games to spare following his appointment in October 2015.
Nevertheless, there had been speculation that Swindon-based Gaming International, who are currently undertaking due diligence ahead of a possible takeover of United, had wanted to replace him with former Gulls Youth Coach Geoff Harrop, currently with Yeovil Town who he currently serves as Youth Academy manager.
However, this new deal now offers the Gulls a chance to rebuild and regroup and offers the potential of greater stability - Nicholson is United's fifth manager in the five years since Paul Buckle left Plainmoor for Bristol Rovers in 2011.
During his brief tenure, he has had to face many challenges that a lot of managers had never faced in their careers before, and has even had to drive the team to matches in a mini-bus.
After a period of wheeling and dealing in the January transfer window that enabled him to bring in a number of new faces, including former teammates Nathan Blissett (Kidderminster Harriers) and Shaun Harrad (Notts County and England C), as well the return of Toby Ajala and the addition of Iffy Allen, Nicholson was able to re-mould the squad that he inherited from Paul Cox.
The revival started with a 1-0 away win over Boreham Wood on February 20th 2016, which proved to be the start of a four match winning streak. This was followed by draws with Braintree Town, Aldershot Town and FC Halifax Town and another win over Southport, as the Gulls lifted themselves clear of danger.
Defeats against Dover Athletic and Eastleigh were followed by wins over Gateshead and Chester FC and then another loss - this time to Tranmere Rovers. However, the Gulls bounced back to defeat Altrincham and Bromley to secure survival with two games to spare - thus ensuring a 'party atmosphere' for the final home game against Barrow - which marked the return to Plainmoor of his predecessor Cox.
Now, the next challenge facing Nicholson is to keep the squad of players that pulled off the 'Great Escape' together, as only leading scorer Blissett, who has an option of an extra 12 months on top of the initial six months he signed for, has any kind of deal for the 2016-17 season.
It promises to be a busy few months between now and the start of pre-season training in July for Nicholson.
Footnote: In his short managerial career, Kevin Nicholson has already faced two of his former clubs in opposition (Forest Green Rovers and Kidderminster Harriers), an ex-manager (Jim Harvey FC Halifax), a one-time team-mate (Chris Todd Eastleigh) and his predecessor (Paul Cox Barrow).
