Steve King emerges as candidate for Crawley Town job

Former Lewes and Whitehawk manager Steve King has emerged as a credible candidate to be the next Crawley Town manager.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th May 2017, 18:52 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 03:23 BST
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Owner Ziya Eren has said he is looking for someone young, local and who knows the club.

He also said he is looking for someone successful.

King was seen at Crawley’s final match of the season against Mansfield, leading to speculation on the club’s fans’ forum he could be a contender for the job.

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The former boss lives locally in Southwater and has a comprehensive knowledge of Sussex football, having managed Lewes for more than five years.

King has enjoyed considerable success as a manager, having gained three promotions to lift Lewes from the Ryman South up to the Conference Premier during his first spell there in 2003-8.

He also impressively won the Southern League for his next club, Farnborough in his first season.

In his second season he led Farnborough to finish second in the Conference South and runner-up to Ebbsfleet United in the Play-off final.

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King’s next job was at Macclesfield Town, who had been relegated from League 2 into the Conference Premier.

At Macclesfield in 2012-13 he led them to the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history.

During their campaign they beat Paolo Di Canio’s Swindon Town from League 1 and Championship leaders Cardiff City before losing to the eventual FA Cup champions Wigan Athletic who were managed by future Everton and Belgium boss Roberto Martinez.

His last job was at Whitehawk where he saved them from relegationin 2014/15 from the Conference South before taking them to the Play-off finals in 2015-16.

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In 2015 he won the Sussex Senior Cup, thrashing Crawley Town 6-1 along the way.

He enjoyed a high profile FA Cup run with the Brighton club in 2015-16, taking them to a second round rpelay against Dagenham where they lost 3-2 after extra time before parting company with them in February 2016.

King also has a great record for spotting good players, with Exeter City’s David Wheeler, Cambridge City captain Leon Legge and Stevenage Borough’s Jack King all having played for him previously at Lewes.

His discoveries also include Brighton’s Solly March, sold by him from Lewes, Cardiff City’s Joe Ralls, who played under him at Farnborough before bring sold the Welsh club, and Portsmouth’s Jed Wallace who played for him at both Lewes and Farnborough.

Related topics:LewesCrawley Town