NEW Fleet Town boss Paul Holden will rely heavily on his assistant Ian Saunders to steer him through his first few days in charge.

The former Crystal Palace academy director and reserve team manager begins his Calthorpe Park reign with two home matches - against Metropolitan Police tomorrow and Dulwich Hamlet on Tuesday.

His challenge is to lift spirits after Tuesday's 4-0 home thrashing by one his old clubs, Walton & Hersham, which kept Fleet sixth to bottom of Ryman 1. But Holden wasn't totally surprised by the result.

He said: "There's been a period of uncertainty wondering wheth-er a new manager was coming in or whether Ian Saunders (caretaker manager) would take over.

"I think that sort of upheaval affects non-League players even more than it does professionals.

"There's going to be the introduction of a few new players, but I'll be using Ian's knowledge for the next couple of games. He seems very popular with the players and committee and I'm happy to have him here as my assistant.

"He's an Army lad and I'm ex-military too. I can't see any conflicts."

He added: "A new manager of any kind tends to lift a side. I can't promise instant miracles, but I'm just relishing the challenge."