PETERBOROUGH are delighted to announce Carl Johnson has agreed to resume his role as team manager next season.
Johnson stood down at the end of the recent Championship campaign and was set to leave a formal position with the club due to family commitments.
But talks have continued since Panthers were elevated to the Premiership, which means a reduced travel schedule and meetings taking place only on Mondays and Thursdays.
So after consultation with family and work, Johnson has committed his future to the club once again.
Co-promoter Ged Rathbone said: “We had long discussions with Carl and his family, and the fact that there are no weekend meetings means he can do what we need from him as a team manager, and still have family time.
“With us moving up a league it’s probably the only way he could have stayed on as team manager, and it’s very good to have him back.
“Carl has done a lot of graft over the years, he’s been successful at Championship level, and we feel as an overall management team that he deserves the opportunity to manage at that level.
“He’s 100 per cent dedicated, if you snapped him in half you’d find he was Peterborough through-and-through, and we’ve got a good working relationship.
“Keeping continuity is very important to us. The club is under new ownership with Buster (Keith Chapman) but the backroom team is the same, we all know how each other works and we’re looking forward to making an impact on the top league.”
Johnson, meanwhile, is relishing the opportunity to test himself at the highest level and is excited by the prospects for 2019.
He said: “It’s a step up for me, and you have to try yourself at every level. I’ve done my time in the Championship, and it’s a good time to step up.
“I think it’s fitting that the team which finished top of the league – I know we didn’t win the play-offs - is one of the teams that moves up into the top league, I think that’s how it should be.
“On performances last season we deserved to be top, and Buster coming in is going to help the club financially, but that still doesn’t mean we’ll be throwing stupid amounts of money at everything, which we’ve never done.
“From my point of view it’s a new challenge, one I haven’t done before, but I’m sure it’s one I can step up to and hopefully do as well as I did in the Championship.
“On the work side of things the furthest I’m going to travel in the Premiership is Poole and Belle Vue, and everything else is within a couple of hours.
“Work understands my position and the big thing was my partner saying she thought I should do it, she said I deserved the opportunity after the last four years, and it means I can have more Saturdays off for family time – so I’m really looking forward to it.”
With former British Champion Chris Harris already on board, Panthers expect to name another major signing later this week.