Kettering boss sets title target

Harper will be player-manager for the first time against Kidderminster

Kettering Town player-manager Lee Harper has set his sights on winning the Blue Square Premier this season.

The 38-year-old oversaw a 2-1 win over Rushden & Diamonds in the Hillier Cup in his first match in charge.

The keeper told BBC Radio Northampton: "It's a fantastic opportunity for me. I set my standards as high as I can, and that means winning the league.

"I won't make changes too quickly but I want us to be balanced between defence and maybe for us to play a bit more."

Harper knows that he has a tough act to follow after Mark Cooper, who won the Blue Square North title with the Poppies and left them in the play-off places, before joining Peterborough.

I'm here for the long haul, not just the end of the season, and I'm going to give it my all

Lee Harper

"It is hard to fill [Cooper's] boots, as the fans idolise him. I want to continue the good job he's done," he said.

"But I don't have any fear of jumping into the manager's job. I've played at all levels of the game and worked with some good man-managers," added Harper.

He will also be devoting himself to the player-manager role full-time, having previously run a business alongside his playing commitments.

"When I first signed, I had issues with my knees from my Northampton days and the manager said 'train whenever you want'," he said.

"But I've made sure that my business is taken care of, in order that I am here full-time now.

"I'm here for the long haul, not just the end of the season, and I'm going to give it my all."

Since Harper will continue to play in goal for the Poppies, a decision on an assistant manager at the Elgood's Arena is expected shortly.

"The chairman has said that it's crucial for me to keep playing because we're solid in defence. It's only right we don't upset that too much.

"In an ideal world, I'd probably want to just manage. But there will be someone on the touchline with experience in the game, someone I trust. The guy [I've got in mind] in is an ex-forward."

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And Harper says he has taken advice from Cooper, who spent time as a player-manager at Tamworth.

"Coops said to me, 'Don't try to manage on the field, just go and play'. But I do coach on the field anyway, and I won't change the way I play," Harper said.