Slough Town hand Steve McKimm a rescue job and a new budget

Slough Town spent the week of 19 October changing almost everything except the league table. Steve McKimm was appointed manager on the Wednesday, a Kuwaiti-based investment group took a 25 per cent stake in the club's ownership company on the Friday, and a side bottom of the National League South with four points from twelve games lost 3-1 at home to Dorking Wanderers on the Saturday.

The order of those events matters. McKimm was given a squad that had won once in twelve league games, and within 48 hours he was also given money to change it. Both facts will shape the rest of Slough's season more than any single result in October.

The job McKimm inherited

Alan Julian was dismissed in September after six consecutive league defeats. The interim trio of Johnny Goddard, Ryan Case and Henry Ochieng lost 5-1 at Salisbury in their first game, then won 1-0 at AFC Totton for the club's first points of the season. A 1-1 draw with Ebbsfleet United was the only other point.

The pattern was consistent: Slough stayed in games, then lost them. The home defeat by Horsham on 17 October followed the same script, with Ruben Shakpoke scoring early, Shay Spencer sent off ten minutes before half time, and the visitors turning the game around through Ryan Bartley and substitute Greg Luer.

Who the Rebels have appointed

McKimm is 51 and arrives with the kind of non-league record that reads well in a relegation fight. He guided Tonbridge Angels to promotion into this division in 2019, then led Cray Valley Paper Mills to the Isthmian League South East Division title in his first season in charge.

He is joined by assistant manager Barry Moore, who has worked alongside him throughout his managerial career and had been assistant at Whitehawk this season, and by first-team coach Mark Watson. Watson is a Birmingham-born former centre-forward whose playing career took in West Ham United, Leyton Orient and Aldershot Town.

What McKimm and the chief executive said

McKimm's first message was short and did not oversell the task. "We're not in the best position at the moment, but with the hard work from staff, the players and the backing of the fantastic support base the club has, we are determined to turn it around," he told the club's website.

Chief executive Ashley Smith thanked the interim staff and set the tone for the appointment. "Throughout this process, Steve showed total professionalism and a real passion for the challenge ahead," he said. Smith also paid tribute to Goddard, Case and Ochieng, whose efforts he said had "undeniably strengthened the group".

The investment that arrived two days later

On the Friday the club confirmed that Development Holding Company, a Kuwaiti-based group, would initially take a 25 per cent stake in the ownership company A23 Football Group, rising to 50 per cent and then 70 per cent over the next few years. Talal Al Ajmi becomes chairman and Mike Lightfoot honorary life president.

Smith said the immediate priority was additional backing for the first-team playing budget. The wider plan covers a proposed Community Sports Hub at Tamblyn Fields, continued investment in Arbour Park, the academy and the football pathway. Smith remains chief executive.

Saturday: a good start and the same ending

Arbour Park was full of the new-era optimism the club had marketed, with up to four free tickets offered to supporters using the code NEWBEGINNING. Slough led on 15 minutes when Saikou Janneh's through ball released Ruben Shakpoke, who finished calmly into the bottom corner.

Dorking had more possession but Slough created the clearer openings, and Johnny Goddard picked out Janneh only for the forward to head off target. The visitors came from behind to win 3-1, with Harry Pinchard named star man. It was, in miniature, the season so far.

What the next month looks like

There are three things McKimm has to fix, and only one of them needs money.

• Discipline: red cards have cost Slough repeatedly, including Shay Spencer's against Horsham.
• Game management: the lead at home to Dorking lasted 15 minutes and produced nothing.
• Confidence: a squad with one win in twelve settling for the safe pass instead of the forward one.

McKimm has a fortnight of league games before the FA Trophy breaks the rhythm. The relegation battle is already the only table that matters at Arbour Park, and the gap is not yet so large that a run of three wins would fail to change it.

The FA Trophy offers a different kind of week

The second round draw on Monday 26 October sent Slough to Didcot Town on the weekend of 14 November. Didcot beat Southern League Premier Division South leaders Poole Town 2-1 at Loop Meadow in the previous round, the furthest they have ever been in the competition.

A cup tie against a side from a level below is not a distraction for a club in Slough's position. It is one of the few afternoons this season when the players can play without the table in the background, and a win would put a little money and a little confidence into a squad that needs both.

More on the division's shape sits in club news and in the Maidenhead United file next door.