Ledbury Town Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Sam Dixon as First Team Assistant Manager, and Scott Roberts as First Team Player/Coach.
The move comes as Ian Merrick’s team start their preparation ahead of the Herefordshire County League Premier Division season which starts in late August.
Sam Dixon is a former Ledbury Town First Team player, but gave up playing in his twenties. He is a FA Level 2 coach and his appointment concludes a lengthy search for Merrick’s number two.
Ian Merrick said: “I wanted to bring Sam to the club with me last season, but the timing wasn’t right for him. We had conversations at the end of the season, and he indicated that he would be keen to come on board.”
“He watches a lot of football locally and has fantastic knowledge of local players. He’s also a great lad to have around the dressing room. I played with him and he will bring great experience and humour to the dressing room. He’s a coach who I think the lads will really take to.”
Scott Roberts returned to Ledbury’s playing ranks last season. Scott’s return saw a dramatic improvement in the team’s performance, and his consistency and leadership earned him the Manager’s Player of the Season award for the 2021/22 season.
Merrick said: “Scotty’s in-game management while playing has always impressed me. At times he sees things on the pitch that I’ve missed, and I’ve been very keen to harness that knowledge. He had a few niggling injuries at the end of last season, and it became clear he may now not be able to play every week, so I was keen to have him on board.”
“Scott is also a Level 2 coach and is tactically and technically astute. Adding his knowledge and experience will hopefully bring us on and take us those extra couple of yards next season.”
Dixon and Roberts first match on the First Team coaching staff will be on Saturday (July 9th) as Ledbury host Monmouth in their first pre-season friendly at New Street (3pm kick off).