DANNY Scopes feels he will benefit from taking a break from management.

The newly appointed Aveley boss had six months out of the game after leaving Concord Rangers following their FA Trophy final clash with Harrogate Town at Wembley in May.

And Scopes believes he is returning to the dug-out as a better manager.

“The break was needed,” said Scopes.

“I’ve been involved in football all my life but I’ve had various periods when I’ve stepped away from it and done different stuff.

“I’m always involved and I do a lot of coaching with youth teams as well but breaking from the management was good.

“The highs of getting to Wembley with Concord and the pressure of that and trying to not get too badly beaten against a League Two side in front of millions on TV was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

“But the break was good. It gave me a chance to recharge and reflect on what I’d done at Concord, what had worked and what I felt hadn’t.

“I feel like I’ve improved and I’d like to think Aveley had got a better manager than before that break.”

Since returning to management, Scopes has taken charge of three matches for Aveley who sit fourth in the Isthmian North standings.

And he already feels progress has been made.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind couple of weeks since I went in,” said Scopes, whose side beat Felixstowe & Walton 5-0 at the weekend.

“We’ve made good progress I feel and worked really hard to get where we are now with the performance on Saturday.

“I’m really pleased. I feel like we’re moving forward already and part of the furniture too.”

But Scopes is setting his sights high for the remainder of the season.

“We’ve got to try and get promoted but we understand how hard that is,” said Scopes.

“Isthmian North is a tough league and there are probably 10 to 12 teams who have the ambition to get promoted.

“A lot of teams have good financial backing and have good teams so it’s going to be a challenge.

“But the club has everything in place and our aim is to be as competitive as we can as quickly as we can.”