SWINDON Supermarine are on the hunt for a new assistant manager after Lee Spalding stepped down to spend more time with his family.

Spalding joined Supermarine, along with manager Dave Webb, in the summer of 2012 from Highworth but has decided to cut his stay short to focus on the football careers of his two sons who play for Swindon Town and Bristol City academies.

The move has meant that former Leeds manager Dave Hockaday, who only joined the club a week ago to link up with the management team in an advisory role, will assist with the coaching while chairman Jez Webb looks for a replacement.

“Lee was due to leave at the end of the season anyway, he has two very promising lads, ones at Swindon Town and one is at Bristol City, and he wants to spend more time with them and he told us at the end of the season he would be moving on,” chairman Webb told the Adver.

“But he has just decided he didn’t want to miss any more of this season and brought the date forward really.

“Dave has always, since he joined us, insinuated that he’d advise us on the coaching so at the moment he will be doing the coaching (in place of Spalding).

“It is not an ongoing permanent fixture; he is just going to be doing the coaching until we find an assistant coach.

“The manager at the moment, this afternoon, is speaking to potential coaches so that search has started already.

“Dave Webb has far more contacts in football than I do. He is very well connected in the local scene and there are a lot of people he knows, so I am letting him source them and then I’ll be sitting in on the final interview or two.

“I totally see where Lee is coming from, but he will be missed because he is a great coach.”

Supermarine have also announced the signing of former Swindon Town defender Aaron Oakley, who had signed a one-year contract with the League One side last summer.

The 19-year-old former Wales Under 21 international joined the Evo-Stik League Southern Division One South & West side for training last Thursday and is expected to sign on Tuesday, adding to the loan signing of Scott Bevan last Friday.

“It has been a bit of a rocky road for Supermarine in the last week because we have lost someone very valuable to us but we have added two or three very good players,” added the chairman.

“I heard how good he was and I actually saw for myself on Thursday evening at training and he looks extremely good.

“Dave Hockaday set up Scott Bevan for us, so already Dave is proving to be a valuable asset for us.

“That was the very reason I wanted to get Dave involved in the first place, because I knew his contacts and I knew his power of persuasion.

“I think it is onwards and upwards now and our season will be taking a rapid change of direction.”