Ledbury Town are delighted to confirm the appointment of Ian Merrick as the club’s First Team Manager.

Ian is set to take his first training session with the team when they start pre-season preparations on Thursday night.

Ian explained how he is looking forward to getting started at New Street: “I’m delighted to be appointed Ledbury Town Manager. It’s a team very close to my heart, who I played for and probably made 250 appearances for the club. It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to take over the team, with the new committee to try and really push the club forward.”

Ian stepped down as Gala Wilton Manager in the Spring after five seasons in the Gloucestershire County League and will begin working towards his UEFA B Licence qualification this summer. Most recently he has served as Ledbury Town’s Vice Chairman but has now resigned from that position to fully concentrate on First Team duties. A new Vice-Chair will be elected at the club’s AGM.

Chairman Pete Boyle said: “We are an ambitious club. Ian’s level of experience at Step 7 will help guide us through the leagues in the coming years.”

In his time at Gala Wilton, Ian overhauled a side consistently finishing in the lower half of the Gloucestershire County League to a team who were pushing top five finishes in the last two Covid-curtailed seasons.

Prior to that, Ian completed a fine playing career having turned out for Cheltenham Town U16s, Forest Green Rovers U18s, Hereford Pegasus, and was part of Ledbury Town’s Herefordshire County Cup winning team in 2010. He also coached Ledbury Town U18s to third & second place finishes in the ultra-competitive HFA Floodlit Youth League between 2013 and 2015.

Ian said: “Hopefully, our fanbase will see attacking football and something exciting that will get them out of their seats. On Saturday afternoons we want people down at New Street, supporting the lads and getting behind the team. I know Ledbury is a community that when football in the town is going well people will want to support the team. If we can get people back through the gates, getting behind the lads, that would be fantastic.”

Pete Boyle added: “Since taking over at Ledbury Town Football Club, we have been blessed by the support of the community and we hope that continues in the forthcoming season. We are hopeful that by appointing Ian, we can create a style of play that will help entice the community to buy into watching the team again, and we hope to see them this season.”

A full pre-season fixture schedule will be announced shortly.