Woodbridge Town have appointed former Burnham Ramblers first-team coach Lee Elliston as their new manager.

Woodbridge Town have appointed former Burnham Ramblers first-team coach Lee Elliston as their new manager.

He takes over from caretaker bosses Louis Newman and Sean Clements, who themselves took over when Mark Scopes left the club.

The Notcutts Park club have turned to Elliston, 32, who has also enjoyed management and coaching spells at Ipswich Wanderers, Barnston AFC and Henley Athletic, in the hope he can turn their season around.

With the Thurlow Nunn Premier League side currently bottom of the table with one win and five points to their name, Elliston knows he has a massive task on his hands to avoid relegation.

“Yes, it’s quite a large job, I know that,” he said.

“But I’ve had challenges outside of football as well as in the game itself, and I’m relishing the opportunity and challenge at Woodbridge.

“Of course we already seem to have one foot in the First Division (of the Thurlow Nunn League), but I’m not going to put pressure on the team to worry about the fact we must win this game and we must win that game.

“To be honest I’m not even going to talk about points or relegation, my ethics are to go and inject some confidence and belief into the side.

“We may need a bit more quality and experience, but I think if we can get the ball rolling with what I want us to achieve, the results will take care of themselves.

“I don’t want to be short-term in my thinking, but longer term and if we can stay up, then fantastic, but I want to see us progress.

“Woodbridge is a super club and I’m not just focussing on the first team, but the reserves, under-18s. I’m heavily into the importance of youth football and Woodbridge has a great youth set-up.”

Elliston had to give up playing after a broken right leg and re-constructed left knee saw him quit the game at 26.

He lives near Brentwood and works in London and has worked hard on getting his coaching badges. He is currently looking for a number two to assist him.

Woodbridge chairman John Beecroft is delighted to get Elliston on board.

“I’ve been sifting through the applicants and Lee’s name came to the fore early on,” Beecroft said.

“It’s taken a while to put together but I’m delighted to have Lee on board. I know it’s a tough challenge for him, but if we go down, we go down and re-group. I’m pleased he is with us.”

Elliston’s first game in charge is away at FC Clacton on Saturday.