SALTASH United have appointed Mackenzie Brown as their new manager.
Brown was the hot favourite and obvious choice for the job after Danny Lewis announced his resignation from the post last week.
Macca, as he is better known, stood down as Millbrook boss at the end of the season after seven years in the post, during which time he transformed them from being within hours of folding to a place in the Western League Premier Division and this season’s Cornwall Senior Cup final.
He will be joined by his assistant manager at Millbrook, Lee Britchford, while Mark Pratten is also making the move to the Ashes, as Head of Football Operations, almost a year after standing down as Millbrook chairman.
Brown said: "I’m absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to manage such a fantastic club.
"Leaving Millbrook last month was genuinely a leap of faith, we didn’t really expect anything to come up so soon, but it has and it’s an opportunity that can’t be missed for neither Lee or myself.
"Lee could have used it as an opportunity to find his own thing, so I’m delighted he will continue to be in the dugout with me.
"There have been a few opportunities to leave Millbrook in the last 18 months or so for something new but this one feels right.
"Don’t get me wrong I know the conditions aren’t ‘perfect’ and it’s been a bit turbulent for a couple of years, but if everything was perfect then the opportunity wouldn’t have arisen in the first place and it’s not necessarily where the club is now, but where it can be, and we see that as an exciting challenge. "There’s no doubt we have huge shoes to fill, Danny (Lewis) did an amazing job last season, he is someone I have a huge amount of respect for and I have spoken to him in the last few days.
"His love for the club is evident and I hope we can pick up where he has left off. The loyalty of the players here was an inspiration for my work at Millbrook.
"I wanted to establish an identity there that has been here at Saltash for 10 years. When you think of Saltash you think of the same names who have been here for so long, pulling on the shirt week in, week out, season after season, and they have my utmost respect for that loyalty, not to mention their success in that time.
"I hope they believe in the new chapter as much as we do but I’m not naive, a couple of those players have already stepped away after years of magnificent service and they’ve all proven themselves to be the best around so they will be attracting a lot of interest.
"But we are looking forward to meeting them all and working with them as soon as possible, and that goes for all of the players, management and volunteers in the club."
Saltash finished second in the Western League Premier Division this past season, and Brown added: "The standards have been set in 2022/23 but that doesn’t faze me.
"Our aim is to take the club even further forward, both on and off the pitch, and I’m delighted Mark has also agreed to come on board to help achieve that, it’s a great coup for the club.
" It will be difficult to surpass last season's league performance but success can be measured in many different ways and we are looking forward to the long-term challenge here at Saltash United."