‘Great feeling’ – Hakan Hayrettin on agreeing to stay on as Dulwich Hamlet boss

Hakan Hayrettin says being manager of Dulwich Hamlet is the best thing that has ever happened to him after he signed a new deal ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

Ex-Maidstone boss Hayrettin joined Dulwich in March 2023 and rebuilt the squad in the Isthmian League Premier Division, where they finished 12th this season.

Assistant manager Terry Harris has also agreed to stay at Champion Hill.

“I’m overly-privileged and proud to be at the helm of this great football club again,” Hayrettin told Dulwich’s website.

“I said at the end of the season that it’s the best thing that has ever happened to me.

“The status is, of course, important. But it’s a great feeling for me to be given this opportunity to represent this football club again.

“To be given a new deal here alongside my assistant Terry Harris, I’m very pleased.”

Will Wood, Jack Holland, Kalvin Kalala, Frankie Raymond, Nana Owusu, Aaron Jones, Quade Taylor and Andre Blackman were all released by Hayrettin following the club’s relegation from National League South.

“In any football club, when you go in, changes are made for the best of the football club,” he said. “I decided that it was best to restructure and start again.

“I was given a clean slate to build something. The biggest thing for me is the connection between the players, me and the supporters. We have nearly 3,500 supporters who come here every week to cheer this team on – it was important that we got that connection back.

“Frustrating? Yes. We started the season trying to implement our ideas with a fresh and new group. For periods of the season, we did that.

“I pushed them so hard at the end and we had so many injuries. We nearly got there, but we didn’t. It’s been a very strange season for me. I’m not used to this. It’s given us more of an eye-opener and driven us to do more right things for the club.”

PICTURE: ROB AVIS