MARTIN Hayes admits he would like to succeed Andy Ford as Welling United manager.

The former Arsenal star is no stranger to the Conference South from his time in charge at Bishop’s Stortford and is eager to get back in the thick of it again with the Wings.

Hayes said: “I’ve seen my name mentioned and to be honest I’m quite pleased I am regarded as a possible candidate for the job.

“It is certainly a position I would be interested in but I’ve not had any formal discussions with the club yet since having a brief conversation with them a couple of weeks ago.

“I would be very interested if they wanted to talk to me and I would certainly like to think I could do a job there.”

Ford cited a lack of cash as a major factor in his decision to quit the job, but Hayes says it isn’t an issue as far as he is concerned.

He explained: “I’ve never had a massive budget before, even at Stortford, so I’m used to it.

“Andy said the budget wasn’t there but that could just be a temporary thing.

“I’m sure Welling do have ambitions to progress, if not this year then certainly in the future. They already have a big fan base and it is in a good location.

“The thing about budgets is you have to work within them by getting the right players in with the money you’ve got available to you, something I’ve always been able to do before.”