Departing Corinthian Casuals boss MAtt Howard has assured fans star men Jamie Byatt and Danny Bracken will not be following him to Carshalton Athletic.

Howard, who led Casuals to a 13th place finish in Ryman Division One South this season, was unveiled as the Robins’ new manager over the weekend with Casuals coach Luke Garrard as his assistant.

Byatt bagged 21 league goals for the King George’s Field outfit last term passing the 100-career-goals mark for the club in the process.

Coupled with the goalkeeping exploits of Bracken, he helped Casuals set a new points haul record and has become a cult hero in Brazil with sister club Corinthian Paulista.

Howard feels he has moved to a club with the potential to gain promotion to the Ryman Premier, but has insisted he will not be pilfering Byatt and Bracken – whose brother James is the new man in the Casuals hotseat – from a club where they have become legends.

But he has not ruled out stealing one or two others.

“You can never say so who knows if Corinthian players will join me,” he said.

“They are quite a loyal bunch there.

“When I took over at Casuals everybody told me that players were going to leave but they never did.

“We only used 19 p0layers last season. We had offers from elsewhere but no-one left.

“I told the players I was leaving at the weekend and Jamie Byatt was the first to say 100 per cent that he would be staying at Casuals.

“Danny is the best keeper in that league and should probably be playing at a higher level, but his brother is manager now, so will not be leaving.

“He will go down as a Corinthian Casuals legend in time.”

He added: “I thought we underachieved last season, but to set a new points total record of 58 is something I’m very proud of.

“With all due respect, it will be difficult to take Casuals any further, but there is so much potential at Carshalton, it was an opportunity I could not refuse.”

Casuals moved swiftly to appoint James Bracken as Howard’s replacement and he comes with good pedigree.

He led Sutton United reserves to a third consecutive Suburban League Premier Division title this season in a campaign that has seen his side collect seven trophies in all.

“I’m delighted to be taking charge at Corinthian-Casuals, a club with unrivaled history,” said Bracken senior this week.

“This has come after eight years of success at Sutton United and I would like to thank them for their support.

“I look forward to taking this special club forward both on and off the pitch in what I hope will be an exciting new chapter in the club's history.”

Club spokesman Stuart Tree added: “We’re all really excited to have James on board.

“His track record is immense and he’s incredibly passionate about what he does.

“His work ethic, determination and dedication will surely prove to be a huge asset for Casuals and we’re already looking forward to next season.”