“IT wasn’t difficult at all” for Marc Revell to accept the offer to return as Newton Abbot Spurs’ 1st XI manager following the departure of Connor Marshall, he told the Mid-Devon Advertiser.

Revell was previously in charge for a few years, alongside his brother Simon, and together they took the club to a second-placed finish in the SW Peninsula League East last season before then bowing out.

Marshall then took the reins and despite enjoying a solid debut campaign in charge, with a top three finish on the cards, he has now departed because “the club and I [were] moving in different directions.”

On social media, the club wrote: “Marc needs no introduction at the club- his previous success, leadership and popularity within the Spurs family speaks for itself.”

With his son playing youth football at Exeter City, Revell “was going to take this whole year off” and he was “quite enjoying the time off in all honesty. Watching my lad, watching other games, spending time with the rest of my family.”

Chairman Ross Bellotti came calling though and Revell has swiftly stepped back into the spotlight, for the remainder of the season at least.

He could be taking over in much worse circumstances as well, he remarked: “It’s not like they’re struggling, they’re not bottom or anything like that. I’m not stepping in to save the day or steady the ship, I’m just there to help a group of lads reconnect with each other and with football.”

Revell continued, “I think Connor has done a great job and it’s sad really, that he got to a point where he thought him and the football club were pulling in different directions.”

The Marshall tenure saw key players depart and in turn, this interrupted proceedings.

Young pair Toby Hard and Coby White arrived in the summer from Torquay United and swiftly moved onto Buckland Athletic whilst Tyler Joint jumped up two steps to play for Brixham AFC in the Southern League and “deservedly so” in Revell’s eyes.

Even more disruptive was the loss of defensive duo Finn Pearse and Lewis Breslan, a partnership that Revell couldn’t speak highly enough of. “When I took Spurs on at the start, I put them two together and said we build the team around a solid centre-back partnership.

“We got to the point that we had one of the best defensive records in the league last season and then, by hook or by crook, it gets disassembled.

“Putting them back together is imperative to the character of the group because everyone looks up to them and also for the on-field performances, they’re the two biggest leaders that I’ve had ever had under me so I think they need to be back out there and then the rest will follow.”

He cited striker Tate Breslan-Aggrey as another individual who he’s worked closely with in the past and would love to see back out there in a Spurs shirt.

Revell was in attendance for a couple of games early on in the campaign but he then “watched from afar, because I wanted Connor to do his thing without him thinking I’m looking over his shoulder. I gave him the respect and the space he deserved.”

Those games he did see were home clashes with Bovey Tracey AFC and Stoke Gabriel & Torbay Police on consecutive Tuesday nights, providing contrasting outcomes.

Like many, he believes that Bovey “will win this league at a canter” and suggests that “they were a bit like rabbits in headlights” when they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Ben Gerring’s side.

“Occasionally when they come up short and the nerves get the better of them, they’ve always been a team that is able to respond to a setback” and they did exactly that by outclassing Stoke seven days later.

Looking forward now and “15 good performances” is on the agenda between now and mid-April, allowing “the performances to decide our final league position”.

Revell added, “I think the target for the rest of us, for Bridport, Cullompton, Stoke and ourselves, the aim is to leapfrog each other in the end and finish second. I’ll class that as a league win if we finish second giving how far Bovey are ahead already.

“I’d have liked to be taking this on with a cup semi looming because again, that would be my unfinished business with the team to go one step further.”

Newton Abbot Spurs’ exit from the Walter C Parson League Cup at the hands of AFC St. Day leaves league football alone on the menu for Revell and co with tomorrow’s visit to mid-table Ilminster Town being the first of 15 upcoming fixtures.