Mairs' mission to find AFC Fylde's new boss

Fylde have dropped back into National League North after two years in non-league’s top flight, having finished second-bottom of the division in 2024/25.

Preston-born Mairs, who has been in post at Mill Farm for three months, has decided it’s time to raise his profile as the Coasters’ manager search hots up.

Mairs spent close to a decade with DC United in the USA’s Major League Soccer, working his way up to the role of technical director before returning to his native Lancashire.

He had previously spent 11 years with Prozone, the groundbreaking sports performance analysis company, seven years in the Middle East and worked as a consultant for the USA women’s team, who won the World Cup and Olympic gold.

Mairs told the club’s media team: “Hopefully I can advise the chairman (David Haythornthwaite) in the right way, build a strong squad and bring a head coach in who can successfully represent the club well and the community.”

Fylde are looking for a third boss in a year and, regarding the qualities needed in a new head coach, Mairs explained: “We are looking for someone who is hungry and has a bit of an edge.

“If we want to move players on, then the more technical those players have to be, so we need to recruit a manager who sees it as his mission to develop players we can make money from.

“The aim is to bounce straight back up. I think we’ll be a target because of who we are. At times we are too nice.

“We need to play football on the front foot and also do the dirty work.

“We need the right characters in the dressing room, who can look each other in the eye and say ‘That wasn’t good enough today.’

“We probably haven’t had that in the past. We had a good bunch last year but we were too nice.”