NEw Lydney Town manager Richard Kear says he is ready to continue the good work done by his predecessor Mark Lee.

Former Cheltenham Town forward Kear, 35, was announced as the Hellenic League Premier Division club’s new boss last week and took his first training session in the role last night.

Kear spent a number of years playing at Lydney and was the Division One West top scorer when the club finished runners-up in 2014.

He remained a part of the side that earned promotion to the Premier Division under Lee a year later and was a regular member of the Town team at that level.

Kear said his close affinity with the club made it an attractive proposition, as well as the challenge of picking-up where Lee and assistant manager Stu Liddington left off.

Kear said: “It’s a good chance for me to get into management and, with it being my local club and having played for Lydney, the club is close to my heart.

“Since I left the club, through the seasons, what the club has done and what Mark and Stu have done on and off the field has put them in a really good position.

“The objective is to continue that and if we can improve on the finish from last year then that’ll be a excellent.

“I want to be competitive. You need a lot of things to go for you at this level and there are going to be plenty of teams with much bigger budgets under a lot of pressure to perform.

“Of course, if we can get a bit of silverware, that will be great. But the main aim is to make sure we compete and give ourselves the best methods to win each game.”