What next for Aaron Downes and Torquay United?

He spent three years in the heart of the Torquay United defence and now six seasons as part of the Plainmoor management team, but even a massive club stalwart like Aaron Downes has no idea what the future holds.

Downes, who had been assistant to Gary Johnson for five years, took on the role of interim boss when Johnson resigned in the wake of the administration announcement.

Over the past two months, the amiable Australian has achieved the objective of securing survival in the National League South and his team celebrated safety with a 5-0 walloping of Havant & Waterlooville on the final day, but now questions shift urgently to the future ownership of the club.   

“There is uncertainty and we’ve got to have patience and respect for the process that is being undertaken,” said Downes. “People are working very hard behind the scenes to try and achieve the ultimate goal of a takeover.

“When it all comes to being announced, we will have the answers we are all desperate to know. There are only so many things you can control and, from a personal point of view, I’m just really pleased the club could acquit themselves so well [on Saturday]. The support we had was fantastic and with performances like that, hopefully we can look forward to more.

“It was a really good day to showcase ourselves and we did that impeccably. It was the last home game of the season, we don’t have any more men’s first-team fixtures at Plainmoor, so people understood the importance of coming to support the team.

“It goes to show the type of supporters we’ve got. Since I’ve been in charge, they’ve been amazing. We’ve been told when we haven’t done well, rightly so, but when we have performed, we have been backed and supported.

“I appreciate everybody who has come out to support us. It’s been amazing to see and I thank all of them. I also wish everybody all the best in the off-season and I’m really appreciative of the opportunity I’ve had these past couple of months. I wish everybody a happy summer.”