4,889 days. That is how long it has been since the last Hamlet competitive game without Gavin Rose as manager. On April 25th 2009, we succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at Champion Hill to promotion-chasing Fleet Town in front of just 261 people, and we would finish 12th in the Isthmian League Division One South. It would be Craig Edwards' last game in charge, with 32-year-old former player Gavin Rose being appointed to the helm that summer.

Fast forward to tonight, and as you will know, Gavin's reign as Hamlet manager is over after more than 12 years in charge, a time which has brought two promotions, including a league title in 2013, and that dramatic penalty shootout success which earned our place in the National League South five years later. Attendances are now regularly ten times higher than that gate in 2009, and Gavin has steered us to our highest position in the club's history. He has put players on the pitch that have provided so much joy and excitement to fans, either from the academy or elsewhere, such as Oztumer, Clunis, Carew, Allassani, Pinnock, the list goes on. His place in Hamlet legend is set in stone, and his name will surely be ranked among the greats alongside the likes of Kail, Jover, Coleman and Lillington.

But all things, even the very best, come to an end, and for us, the new era begins tonight with the visit of Hemel Hempstead Town. The stark reality is that we have just one win from seven this season so far, with four successive losses. The side have not lost five in a row since promotion to this level in 2018. The temporary duo looking to stop the rot this evening are captain Jack Holland and forward Danny Mills, stepping into the dugout to lead the side from the touchline.

Jack and Danny come up against a Hemel side who, like us, sit in the relegation zone after the extended break in games, with the same record as us, with one win, two draws and four defeats from their opening seven games. Similarly to the Hamlet, that solitary win also came on the opening day of the season at home to Farnborough, with the Tudors failing to net in their last three games, which included a crushing 4-0 loss at Dover, a 2-0 home loss to Dartford, and then a point at Weymouth ten days ago.

Mark Jones has made a few changes to the squad in recent days, with Nahum Melvin-Lambert coming in on loan from Reading, with the striker joining on a one-month loan deal. He has also said farewell to defenders Bradley Web and Cole Dasilva as the squad gets reshaped.

Last season saw us win home and away against the Tudors, with our record away win in the National League South coming a little more than a year ago, when we won 6-0 at Vauxhall Road in August 2021. Jamie Splatt also became the first Hamlet scorer to be born in the 21st century that afternoon. Then, on the final weekend of the campaign, in front of a sellout crowd, goals from Mills and Andre Blackman saw us end the season with a 2-1 win.

Undoubtedly a new chapter in our long history begins tonight, and we wish Jack, Danny and the players all the best.