JAKE Hutchings knows he has a lot of learning to do after becoming Braintree Town manager, but it is a challenge that the Iron's new player/boss is willing to embrace.

He admitted that it wasn't an opportunity that he expected to come his way at the age of just 23, but he was happy to take it on when chairman Lee Harding spoke to him about it in the wake of former boss Glen Driver's departure two weeks ago.

Driver has since moved back to take the reins at his old club Leiston, while Hutchings is looking forward to learning on the job to take the team forward.

However, he admits that if it proves too big a task - playing as club captain as well as managing the team - and he feels he isn't getting the best out of the side, then he will be prepared to step down from the managerial hotseat.

He said: “It came as a bit of a shock that Glen left the club as we felt we were doing well.

“It was a team that he had built from scratch, but the chairman spoke to us after he left and asked Josh (Urquhart) and I to step in on a short-term basis.

“We did that and came away with a great result (at Hemel Hempstead).

“I then spoke to the chairman again and he said that he didn’t see anything that needed tweaking in the changing room and he felt it was a group of boys who could handle the situation with me as manager.

“He appreciated that I may need help on the coaching side and he brought George (Borg) in but there isn’t much that needs changing.

“It is going to be a learning curve for me, though.

“There is a lot for me to learn and I have to do that quickly.

“I can’t keep giving excuses that I’m learning as people want results and I include myself in that.

“But I don’t feel that there is a great deal of pressure other than what we put on ourselves.

“If it isn’t working out and I’m not getting the best out of the players, then, as a player myself, I’ll know I’m not the right man.

“I’ll be the first to say to the chairman to bring someone else in, but I’m happy to give this everything that I’ve got.

“It’s a bit of a shock at the age of 23 to be in this position as you don’t expect to find yourself as a player/manager.

“All I can do is give everything I have and as long as I have the respect of the players and they are giving their all then I think we can move forward."

To counter Hutchings' lack of previous managerial experience, the club have brought in former Iron manager George Borg to work alongside him as first-team coach and the new boss is glad to have him on board.

He added: “George has a wealth of experience as both a manager and a player and he has been great to work with.

“I’ll encourage any help I can get and hopefully me using his footballing brain and his advice can pay off and we’ll see the benefits on the pitch."