RICHMOND, Va. – With the history the Richmond Kickers bring, there was little question the club’s current vacancy at Head Coach would be one that generated plenty of interest, but General Manager Matt Spear has still been very happy with the progress the search has made since the club parted ways with David Bulow earlier this month.

“We have been intrigued by the quality and the quantity of coaches who have applied for the position so far,” Spear told BGN.fm’s Nathan Reynolds. “We are very close to determining our finalists and want to make the decision soon. But we have to keep in mind that the USL Championship regular season recently concluded, and the playoffs are still on-going. As that ends, it could trigger dominoes that impact our search.”

Whoever does become the eighth Head Coach in the Kickers’ history will be tasked with leading the side back to winning ways in the 2020 USL League One season. After reaching the postseason in 13 consecutive seasons under former Head Coach Leigh Cowlishaw through the 2016 campaign, Richmond has missed out on the playoffs for three consecutive seasons.

While that’s the case, Spear doesn’t believe there will be a major roster overhaul this offseason.

“In the 2019 roster, we had great people and who had a high work effort, but we underachieved. The product on the field next season needs to be more attacking and exciting,” Spear told Reynolds. “[We] want to highlight homegrown talent, players looking to jump-start their careers after injuries like Joe Gallardo, and local college players like we had with Eli Lockaby this season. But we will also have a few older veterans too who help bring experience and leadership to the roster.”

For more on the club’s offseason plans and coaching search, read the full interview on the Beautiful Game Network’s site.