For someone who was always good in the air as a player, Charlie Griffin has his feet firmly on the ground now that he’s a manager.

Cirencester Town’s rookie boss has been the main man barely six months but has faced a baptism of fire as he’s battled to keep the club in the Southern League Premier Division.

The 37-year-old centre-forward took over the reins following the departure of Brian Hughes and said: “The chairman Steve Abbley just told me to keep the club in the division.”

The fact that he ultimately failed - Cirencester were relegated on the final day of the season on Saturday – will not be held against him by chairman Steve Abbley, who wants him to continue as manager.

“Charlie stepped into the breach and you can’t just give him experience,” Abbley said. “Although he is very experienced as a player, it’s very different as a manager.

“But we’ve been pleased with him. He’s enthusiastic, works hard and has some good ideas. It would be stupid to now throw the baby out with the bath water.”

After a playing career that has been spent largely at or near the top of the non-league pyramid and produced more than 230 goals in a shade over 560 games, Griffin is not short of confidence in his own ability but equally knows that the hard work is only just starting.

“It helped that I was already here as a player,” he said. “Hughesy signed me so I knew what the club was about, how good it is and how good the facilities are.

“Moving into management had been on my radar for a while. I obviously wasn’t getting any younger and I’m passionate about football.”

Griffin, who counts Forest Green Rovers and Gloucester City among his many former clubs, scored 22 goals in 46 games for Cirencester last season but has played only a handful of games since becoming manager.

So has he missed playing?

“I haven’t had time to,” he said. “There’s so much to organise on match days but of course I always loved playing.”

At least Griffin didn’t have far to go when he looked around for someone to replace the goals he scored in his first season at the club.

He gave his brother Alan a call and he agreed to join from Chippenham Town – a move that has been productive for both parties as he’s been among the goals. “He’s big and strong and holds the ball up,” said Griffin. “He’s a handful. He’s only 33 so he’s got plenty of games left in him.”

One of the many challenges that Griffin faced last season was not knowing what division the club would be playing in next season.

“I had a Plan A and Plan B,” he admitted. “We’ve been looking at players but we won’t be making wholesale changes.

“I want to get a winning mentality into the club. We might not have the biggest budget but that doesn’t mean we can’t compete.

“If you get the right players in and work hard then anything is possible. The players are out there.”

Griffin’s inspiration is Graham Westley, his former manager at Stevenage Borough. “We won the Conference while I was there in 2010,” said Griffin. “He worked us hard but he got a good group of 15 or 16 players who he believed in and we all responded.”

Some of Westley’s management style will inevitably have rubbed off on Griffin and he admits he doesn’t get much rest on match days once a game starts.

“I haven’t sat down on the bench too much,” he said, “because I’m kicking every ball with them. But I’m not one of those managers who shouts all the time. I try to encourage the players.

“Ranting and raving doesn’t help anyone.”

Griffin has a good relationship with Abbley, who has been chairman of the club for more than 20 years. Abbley enjoyed a good playing career himself, including a lengthy spell at Cheltenham Town in the 1980s.

“It definitely helps that he’s played the game and understands it,” Griffin said. “That’s not the case with all chairmen but I can talk to him after games and that is a positive.”

Griffin’s role at Cirencester is part-time but he is a full-time foundation coach in Bath and has been taking the final part of his UEFA B licence.

He is clearly ambitious and when asked if he’d like to be a full-time manager he replied: “Definitely,” before adding, “but I’ve got to do the groundwork first.

“For now my only concern is Cirencester Town and it’s a club I’m very passionate about. I’ve got a good staff here and my assistant manager Paul Hunt and coach Scott Rose feel the same as I do.”

If Griffin is as good a manager as he was a player then he has every chance of realising his dream and pushing on in the game.

So how would he describe himself as a player?

“I was never nippy,” he admitted, “I was more of a target man but I knew where the goal was. I stayed in the six-yard box or the 18-yard box and never moved from there.

“To be fair, I was not bad in the air or on the ground. Wherever I went I scored goals.”

Now if Cirencester can find a Charlie Griffin Mk II in the closed season, their prospects for success next season would surely be that much greater.