WEYMOUTH chairman Ian White insists the Terras are in safe hands with manager David Oldfield despite a less than flattering record at the club.

Oldfield won just two of 23 games after succeeding previous boss Brian Stock in January as Weymouth took the drop to Vanarama National League South.

In April, Weymouth were relegated with four games of the National League season remaining, following the 6-1 hammering by Wrexham – a game Weymouth led 1-0 at half-time. Oldfield finished the season with a 2-1 win at Dover.

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Speaking to Echosport, White revealed he had no concerns about the ex-Oxford City gaffer’s suitability for the job at Weymouth.

He said: “I think we’re in a good place. Everybody I speak to tells me he’s a very good manager.

“Yes, we allowed him to bring some new players in but it was always going to be difficult.

“I think he’s the right man for the job. He’s done very well at Oxford and people will probably say: ‘Why did you come to Weymouth?’

“He felt when we came that he could (achieve survival). Things can only get better.

“It’s not easy losing and losing. OK, he’s not got a great record but he’ll have an opportunity to bring in his own players.

“You’ve got to give him that opportunity, to be fair. He’s come here, he’s taken it on and he truly believes that we can get ourselves back up into the National League.”

White stood by his decision to relieve Stock of his duties as late as January.

“To change the manager was going to cost the club money,” he said.

“We tried our hardest to give Brian as many opportunities as we could to turn it round.

“The first season it worked and he brought some great players in. For the record, (Andy) Dallas and (Ethan) Ross wanted to stay with us, but we couldn’t afford them.

“It’s as simple as that, it was impossible, which is a shame. Was the decision taken too late? People will say it was but people have their own views.

“I wanted it to work for Brian. Did we wait too long? I don’t think so, 23 games left to go there was a chance.

“The biggest problem was we didn’t beat the teams around us.”

Asked about his record at the Terras, Oldfield replied: “It’s woeful in terms of the stats.

“I remember coming in and saying we have to make ourselves feel better, and we haven’t managed to do that.

“I haven’t managed to affect the group enough in terms of how I want them to play and how we want to be in terms of our footballing intensity.

“It’s a big lesson going forward that we have to learn. We have a big summer in front of us.

“In terms of the boys’ future, many of them are out of contract and we need to make sure we make the right decisions going forward.”