AS Paul Carden gets to work following his return to the Warrington Town manager’s role, the brief is clear.

Just under three years after he left Cantilever Park, he returns with the club one level higher in the National League North.

First and foremost, it is his job to make sure they stay there – and he is prepared to achieve that by any means necessary.

Having previously managed the club for five years between 2016 and 2021, Carden’s return was confirmed over the weekend after a deal was agreed with Nantwich Town – the club he had been managing since February of last year.

He led Town to the brink of promotion from the Northern Premier League twice, but it was Mark Beesley – the man who served as his assistant before taking over the top job – who got them over the line and kept them in their new division with some degree of comfort.

With Beesley having resigned, the job of building on his work falls upon a very familiar face.

“It’s brilliant to be back,” Carden said.

“Everybody knows about the connection I’ve got with this place and I can’t wait to get going.

“It’s a little bit when I came in last time in that sense, the difference being that I know about 75 per cent of the dressing room this time in terms of players.

“There’s a lot of players in there that I spoke to about coming here as well as ones I actually did sign as well.

“I’m hoping that should make it a bit easier, but I’m not daft enough to think that means it will be plain sailing because it’s not. I’m ready to get stuck in and get working.

“I know the chairman well and the players, and there’s an element of unfinished business to a degree in terms of proving we can be at this level.

“That happened last season, we’ve got to make it happen this season and I want to be able to do that.

“The expectations are first and foremost to maintain our status in this league.

“That’s not to say we just want to scrap and stay up but if that’s what it needs to look like, that’s what it will be.

“I believe there’s some good players at this club, but it goes without saying that we need to win more games.”

Carden coming in to replace Beesley, who has since made a quick return to football with FC United of Manchester back in the NPL, is a weird moment of circularity for the club and the man himself.

And Carden was keen to pay tribute to the job his former assistant manager did after he left to join AFC Telford United in November 2021.

“There has to be a lot of credit where it’s due to Bees for what he’s done with the lads, particularly last season,” he said.

“We still speak two or three times a day – we always have done and always will do.

“We’ll bounce things off each other as if we’re still working together.

“Some people might find that hard to believe but it’s true – we were on the phone late last night and again this morning.

“From a point of view of what needs to be done, nothing’s really changed.

“We need to make sure we start picking up a few wins, scoring a few goals and making sure we’re established in this league not just this season, but moving forward for many years.”

While Carden is far from unfamiliar with the squad he has inherited – indeed, there are still seven players in the Town dressing room that were initially brought to Cantilever Park by the returning chief – his return comes at something of an opportune moment.

Having taken his first training session on Tuesday, he will have four more before his first game back in charge – a trip to Chorley on October 5 – so there is time aplenty to stamp his mark.

He insists, however, that he will keep his messaging simple.

“I watched Saturday’s game back and I know how the majority of the players play, so I know what their capabilities are,” he said.

“I’m not here to reinvent the wheel – it’s never been my style to try and be something I’m not.

“The encouragement the players will get from me is the same message as what’s been before, and that’s to play to their strengths and to their teammates’ strengths, and give your all.

“If we can do that and match it with support from the crowd, which I know will happen, we won’t be far away from winning a lot more games than we don’t.”