ANDY Sandell isn’t just aiming to hit the mark between the posts this season after becoming Chippenham Town’s new commercial manager.

The former Newport County captain signed on as the Bluebirds’ main goal-getter earlier this summer.

But after stepping away from professional football, the 31-year-old, who grew up in Calne and lives in Wootton Bassett, now has a vested interest in the goings on at Hardenhuish Park after securing a full-time job with the club.

Sandell will help drive sponsorship revenue to Chippenham and spread the Bluebirds brand across the local area, all whilst playing for the Evo-Stik League Southern outfit, and the striker is looking forward to taking on a key role in his club’s evolution off the pitch.

“When I finished at Newport and decided I didn’t want to be full-time anymore, I eventually knew that I had to get a job,” said Sandell, who will also drive a Chippenham Town-branded Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV as part of the club’s new sponsorship deal with Mitsubishi Melksham.

“When I was looking around and applying for things, you always get asked to put what have you done in the last five to 10 years on your CV and I put that I’d played football - but some employers didn’t like it.

“When I came here, I spoke to Mark (Collier) and he asked if I had a job and told me to speak to Neil (Blackmore, chairman) and John (Applegate, vice-chairman) if I was interested in being the commercial manager. And the rest is history.

“Every club needs stability off the pitch as well as on the pitch and if I can help on and off the pitch, that will make me a lot happier.

“I’m a local boy. I’ve lived around here all my life. I started my career as a kid here and if I can help, I’ll gladly do it and I feel I’ve got what it takes to do it.

“It’s about going around to the local community and the businesses, asking them if they can spare a few pennies to help the club.

“But it’s not just about that. It’s selling the club as well. New people around here probably don’t know that the football club exists and it’s about reaching out to those people, getting the community behind the club, and hopefully moving the club forward.

“There’s a lot of different ways that businesses and people can help. Even if it is voluntary work and things like helping around the stadium, every little helps and it means that Neil doesn’t have to do 24-hour days.

“It’s a big change. I woke up last week and I was like a dog with a bone, with ideas just flowing through my head.

“I need to find my feet and get used to working differently, and hopefully go from strength-to-strength.”

Sandell has become Chippenham’s first commercial manager employed in a full-time capacity.

And chairman Neil Blackmore is counting on his player’s knowledge of the professional game to prove vital to his commercial endeavours.

“We want to move the club forward both on and off the pitch and having a full-time commercial manager is absolutely key to the club’s future,” said Blackmore.

“We’ve had part-time commercial managers in the past but it is a full-time role and it’s going to be the main income stream for the club.

“But it’s not just about selling - it is also about marketing and promoting the club.

“We’re in a town now with a population of over 40,000 and it surprised us how many people there are in Chippenham that don’t know we exist and we need to get our name out there, which is part of Andy’s role as well.

“He’s well-presented, he can obviously talk about football all day long, he knows the club and I think he will be an asset.

“He’s played at a higher level, where clubs do have full-time commercial departments, so he knows how they work, and we’ve discussed players and ex-players that have gone on to take commercial management roles, so we know it can be done.”