After a drawn-out search for their fifth permanent manager since reforming, Chester may just have found the ideal duo to lift the club out of their malaise.

Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley were in the process of winning the National League North title with Salford City when Chester began their hunt to find Marcus Bignot’s successor, an appointment the board knew was make-or-break in terms of their relationship with the club’s supporters.

Initially Chester had approached Neil Redfearn to take the role, and while the former Leeds United boss would have been a safe pair of hands and puts his faith in youth, he’d hardly have inspired the Blues faithful to return to the Deva, something this appointment simply had to do.

Johnson and Morley do just that. The dynamic duo were thrust into the limelight at Salford, delivering the winning football that their owners – Manchester United’s ‘Class of 92’ – craved, with three promotions in the process. Chester have landed a real coup by bringing the serial winners to the city.

Chester were immediately interested when Johnson and Morley became available last week after ‘irreconcilable differences’ led to their split from Salford and acted swiftly to get the pair on board. The board, heavily criticised in recent months notably for the way they treated Bignot, should be applauded for having the bravery to approach the duo, who made a real success of their previous spell at Ramsbottom on a shoestring budget.

They take no prisoners and I for one expect plenty of new players to be brought in, with the right mental attitude which Chester have lacked for well over a year.

After 450 games in charge as a management team, Johnson and Morley are operating at a 60 per cent win-ratio. A repeat of that will get Blues fans back through the turnstiles.

There’s a chance now to draw a line in the sand after 18 months of countless defeats, long winless runs, two managerial sackings, a financial crisis and relegation from the National League, which felt inevitable from January onwards.

Onwards and upwards. Good luck to them both.