WESTBURY United chairman Matt Bright says there is no rush to find a replacement for manager James Goddard.

Marc Lanfear has been placed in temporary charge of the first team at Meadow Lane while the club ponder their next move, following Goddard’s departure late last week.

Bright revealed the club have had five applications for the Westbury hotseat already, which will be narrowed down to a shortlist of three candidates before interviewing the potential managers.

“It doesn’t surprise me we have had applicants. We are a massively different club to what we were two years ago,” said Bright.

“We are a nice place to come and play football, it’s a nice place to come and referee football, we are very different.

“We aren’t going to rush into this, Marc will do a perfectly good job as interim. He is very much a Westbury man.

“He’s been around the club for many years, he coaches the young players and the club is in good hands under his stewardship.

“There are no problems with him being in charge until the end of the season. If we have to wait until the off-season, then that is what we will do.”

United, whose home clash with Portishead Town was postponed last weekend, parted ways with Goddard and his assistant, Karl Freeman, last week, with the club describing it as a ‘difficult decision’ in a statement, but Bright took his chance to praise duo for their work at Meadow Lane.

“We felt we weren’t aligned on where we were going as a club, I felt our aims and objectives weren’t the same as the management,” added Bright.

“We have enjoyed the most successful period of the club's history in recent years. It wasn’t a case of them doing anything wrong, we just felt there was somebody who could do things better.

“They’ve given everything to us and we are very grateful, it’s been a great time for us and they gave everything to the cause.

“James and Karl did a great job. Clearly they are disappointed but we are very grateful for what they have done for us.”