Hendon have announced Gary McCann has agreed to continue as manager next season.

McCann joined the club as a player in March 1997 and made almost 200 appearances for Hendon before returning as manager on 2 February 2005.

Since taking charge, McCann has celebrated two victories in the London Senior Cup, matching the club’s win total in the previous 80 years and reached the FA Cup 1st round on two occasions.

McCann told supporters at the club’s player of the year awards night at Silver Jubilee Park that after negotiations with the directors of Hendon Supporters Trust, chairman Simon Lawrence, Mike Harte, David Bedford and Rob Morris, that he agreed a budget that would be viable for the upcoming season.

“It is going to be more difficult than ever because the recognition that we got out of last season – how well that we did – will be extremely difficult to better. I spoke to Wealdstone manager Gordon Bartlett during the week and he told me that he – and many other managers – considered my team one of the best in the division," said McCann.

“I must be honest I was a bit clouded at the end of last season. I began to wonder if I had taken the club as far as I could," admitted McCann. "My conversation with Gordon helped to clear my mind and realise there were challenges I could meet here. I love the club and it has been a big part of my life for so long and I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.”

“We have been, for the past four or five years, a Club that has been in transition or going slightly backwards – it is always difficult for a club to move forward when they don’t have their own home – but things are in place for a big move forward in the not too distant future. The setting up of the Youth section is very important to me and to the future of the club.”

Hendon Chairman Simon Lawrence said: “Gary McCann has done a fantastic job as Manager of Hendon Football Club for the past nine years. I am delighted that we were able to agree on a budget for 2014/15 that is sustainable and allow us to compete at this level and he will continue as our manager.”

“Unlike most clubs, Hendon Football Club is wholly owned by our small band of passionate and loyal supporters. But we don’t have inexhaustible funds and we have to live within our means.”