PAUL Britton was “made for the job” as Yate Town manager, believes the Bluebells’ director of football Nigel Hawkins.

Former Bristol Rovers Under-15 coach Britton has been appointed as manager at Lodge Road in succession to Craig Laird who resigned from the job in March.

And, added Hawkins, he suits their philosophy of developing young players into senior football right down to the ground.

Britton will be on the sidelines on Saturday as interim player-manager Darren Edwards sees out his stint in charge at the Evo-Stik Southern League Division One South and West outfit – where he has been since Laird left – in the final match of the campaign away at Wimborne Town.

Then the new boss will sit down with chairman Colin Pick and Hawkins to plan the future of the Bluebells.

But he is unlikely to have a budget to buy new players as Yate Town look to save money rather than spend it. They have a chance to buy their own ground in two-and-a-half years’ time, so organic squad growth is the order of the day.

Nevertheless, even without money to spend, said Hawkins, the aim is for Yate Town to gain promotion next season under Britton, who is a familiar face around Bristol and district non-league football, having been involved at the likes of Longwell Green Sports, Bitton and Mangotsfield United Reserves.

Hawkins said that Britton – known throughout football by the nickname Polly – was “a top guy”.

The director of football added: “We want to get back to what the club is about and to work with the youth and under-18 teams. Polly fits that perfectly and we will look at a young team strategy and look for a two or three year plan to have these as the nucleus of the team to grow organically.”

Other clubs in the Evo-Stik Southern League Division One South and West have had big money to splash around on players but, with the Lodge Road Stadium purchase a priority, that will not be happening at Yate.