Jimmy Dack wants to bring some stability to Whitehawk – after their crazy season of five managers and 47 players.

The former Crawley midfielder is the new man in charge at the Enclosed Ground in succession to Andy Woodman.

He is not making any grand promises. The first job is to get a squad together. Nor does he make any secret that a transitional season is in prospect at the top end of East Brighton Park.

But Dack, who was Woodman’s assistant last season, has promised to give fans a hard-working team with a chance for locals to impress.

He hopes the supporters respond with the sort of backing which ultimately helped propel them to safety at the end of last season.

Dack is in talks with players after seeing favourites such as Sergio Torres, Danny Mills and Mike West – plus others who played a more fleeting part – leave the club.

Whether by coincidence or not, Hawks announced Dack’s appointment while the dust was still settling after Torres’s shock switch to rivals Eastbourne Borough.

The club appeared to be in a degree of crisis at that stage but Dack plans to steady the ship.

He told The Argus: “I’m delighted to get the job but it’s going to be a transitional season. They had five managers last season. I will try and bring some stability to the club.

“We won’t be making big signings for big money. But, as pre-season evolves, there will be players we can pick up for the right reasons.

“We will get players we can afford and who want to be at the club.

“I’m talking to four or five from last season and we will be integrating some of last season’s youth team boys with the squad.

“I’ve got lots of contacts and I’m on the phone 24-7. It’s a part-time job but a full-time commitment.

“The plan is to give our supporters a team they can be proud of. They were fantastic for us last season, our 12th man, and I was really grateful for that support.”

Hawks’ under-18s completed the league and county cup double last season and Dack will work closely with the academy.

He said: “We will bring youth players through the system. There needs to be a clear pathway for up-and-coming players and we will have that.”

Dack has a wealth of playing and coaching experience from the top end of non-league football. He also managed Newport County to ninth place in League Two and was then assistant to Mark Yates at Crawley.

Dack knows what he will demand of his side in Vanarama National League south.

He said: “I like to play winning football. I want to outscore teams playing entertaining football but sometimes that doesn’t happen.

“I want to see players playing with smiles on their faces.

“But I like hard-working, honest teams and that is what you will get from us next season at Whitehawk.”

Dack says he likes what he hears from the club’s owners of their longer-term vision.

He said: “They want it to be a community club, like Brighton but on a smaller version. That’s the model they want to use and it’s exciting to hear.

“It will be nice to help them build that but it is going to be hard work.”

And there are shorter-term goals for now – like building a squad and getting a management team in place at the club.

Dack said: “I’m talking to players, there will be players coming in.

“It’s not as though I need four or five. I need a lot more than that.

“But, after the relegation trouble of last year, it is time for a shake-up.”