CANVEY Island’s new chairman has set his sights on getting the club back on its feet, and says the next 18 months are key in making that happen.

Long-term club servant John Batch was unanimously voted as the club’s new chairman last week, ending months of uncertainty over who would get the role after George Frost stepped down last summer.

And Batch, 64, hasn’t wasted time in making plans for the club – targeting promotion to the Conference South and a restructuring of the board.

He has also vowed the club will strengthen over the summer, while giving his full backing to first-team manager Danny Heale.

“I am very pleased to be the club’s chairman,” said Batch. “The club needs someone in this role and a decision needed to be made.

“We all want the same thing. I want to put people in the best positions and keep everyone moving in the same direction. We need clear agendas and directives and I want to make that happen.

“People work very hard at Canvey and the directors know what they want and where this club should be. This club has played in the Conference and needs to be back at that level.

“I am not saying it will happen next season but over the next 18 months this club will move forward. Should it happen next season we are more than ready.”

Gary Sutton, one of the club’s eight directors, said they didn’t want to rush into naming a new chairman.

“The board of directors were steering the club so we felt no need to rush into a decision,” he said. “Also John was working with our manager on team matters and now feels he can step away and focus on moving the club forward as chairman.”

Batch has seen the club’s rise and fall over the years, playing for the Gulls in his youth before joining the club behind the scenes. He has managed the club’s youth teams, and led the reserves to a successful double winning season before he took over as first-team coach in 2006/07.

He managed the club for six seasons, guiding them into the Ryman Premier League in 2008, before stepping down with Glen Alzapiedi taking over. But Batch stayed on at the club, and leaves his role as director of football to take over as chairman.

Batch also gave his full backing to manager Danny Heale, who was appointed in May 2013. Heale led the club to 13th in his first season in charge but, following the departure of Frost, the team has struggled this term.

The Gulls are currently 16th with six games to play, and are only four points clear of the bottom four.

But Batch has full confidence in the man he managed when he was in charge, while confirming new players would be brought in over the summer if Heale wanted them.

But he also warned of the dangers of pumping too much money into a club.

“Danny is without a doubt the right man for the job. I know him very well and have worked with him for years now. I have known him most of his life in fact but that is not the reason he is manager.

“He works very hard for Canvey and has done a good job since taking over. It hasn’t been easy but we want to invest in the club and take it forward. Danny is ambitious and without ambitions we would stagnate. He is 100 per cent the right man for the job.”

Batch bemoaned the club’s bad luck this season, with injuries to a number of key players during the course of the season.

“Ishmail (Kamara) was just starting to score goals for us when he broke his leg, while Rio (Bryan-Edwards) is a very versatile player and an important member of this squad. To see two players break their legs can have an impact on morale and I think that has been the case at times.

“The budget is always going to be tight,” he continued. “It is not healthy for a club when one person pumps money into a club as if they walk away what happens then? This is a club that needs structure. I am talking to a few people and businesses about supporting the club and I hope some success breeds from that.

“The infrastructure and pitch at Canvey is very good already. At the start of every season we always have a certain amount of money to tend to the pitch but the rest of the money should go towards the playing budget. We are definitely looking to strengthen over the summer. We want to and we need to if we want to progress.”

Batch has seen the high and lows while at the club, from Canvey’s two seasons in the Conference National before their owner Jeff King left the club, crippling its finances and seeing them resign from the league.

Canvey fell three divisions to the Ryman One North and this is where Batch stepped in, to help the club back onto its feet.

And he said he chooses to focus on how far the club has come since that day.

“It is disappointing to see something you care about go into demise but we have rescued it a bit in recent years. It has been hard but the overall feeling I have is one of excitement. I am a glass half full sort of person and don’t see the point of being negative.

“We need to embrace the challenges ahead and I can’t wait.”