JOHN Brough could not hide his delight after being appointed manager of North Leigh, writes Matthew Bruce.

The former Cheltenham Town defender led Cinderford Town to the Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West title this season.

However, he resigned after the club declined promotion to the Premier Division due to financial uncertainty.

When Mark Gee stepped down as Millers boss following an 18-year reign, the 43-year-old had no hesitation making his move.

“It was fortunate timing for me that when I left Cinderford the North Leigh job became available,” he said.

“They’ve always tried to play football and I’ve long admired them for it. It was very pleasing when I met the chairman to see the passion he had for the football club – that’s something I’ve always taken with me to every club I’ve been at.”

North Leigh chairman Peter King believes Brough could be the man to take the club to the next level.

He said: “We felt that what John had achieved at Cinderford made him the natural choice.

“He took an average group of players and made them into title winners, so he clearly has fantastic credentials.

“He’s ambitious and he feels that he can take North Leigh into the play-offs.

“He’s a very capable manager and he wants to work at a higher level. He feels North Leigh is the place to do it.”

Making the move from Cinderford alongside Brough in a player/coach role is forward Lee Smith, while Millers midfielder Wayne Turk will take on a similar dual role.

And while there will inevitably be some some new arrivals to the squad, Brough intends to meet with the current players before making any moves in the transfer market.

“It’s a very good squad,” he said. “They were top of the league until Christmas and will probably feel they should have done better.

“I have a meeting planned next week with the squad, which will hopefully give me an idea of who wants to be involved.

“I will tweak a few things, but I’d like to keep this squad together as much as possible.”

Brough already has an idea of where changes will be made as the Millers look to claim a top-five finish for the first time since joining the Southern League in 2008.

“Consistency is the key,” he added.

“It’s all about consistency of performance and consistency of result," he added.

“You have to develop that knack of picking up results even when you’re not playing well.

“We did that at Cinderford and that’s something I’ll try to instil into this team.”