Ottery St Mary have announced the appointment of former Cronies boss Billy Rouse as their new manager.

The Otters issued a statement earlier today (Monday) which read:

‘We are pleased to announce the appointment of Billy Rouse as our first team manager.

‘Billy is someone that needs no introduction in the local football world, someone we as a club have admired for some time on his achievements.

‘In Billy’s playing years he has gained experience not only at local football with the likes of Topsham Town, Heavitree United, Sidmouth Town, to name a few, but also has the experience of the FA Vase and Western League level.

‘As a manger from youth level to creating and taking Cronies to the honours that they achieved with Billy at the helm which includes, four league titles, five cup wins, including the Morrison Bell twice, all of this within a short period of time.

‘Billy will be joined by Mark Flay as his assistant, they are both looking forward to getting started once the current situation is over.

‘As a club we are delighted to get our man, and are looking forward to great things to come.

‘Over the coming week we will be posting up reactions from club officials along with Billy and Mark themselves.

‘Moving forward to the next era growing the club and community.’

The Otters have been managed this season by first, Dave Fairweather who departed the club by mutual agreement in January since when club chairman Mikey Ringer, who also manages the Ottery ladies, has been the ‘gaffer’.

Speaking after the club had released the statement, Ottery chairman Mikey Ringer said:

“It has been a long few months, since we lost Dave [Fairweather] as manager of our first team. Since then we have had lots of interest and been given all sorts of information, but we also knew that what we were being told, we could not necessarily act on.

It has always been my ambition to put Ottery St Mary Football Club back on the football map. That ambition was promoted further when we secured Step football last summer, since when, we have begun to build what I consider to be a great relationship with the community and, over the past few years, our youth section has grown so much and now it is very much the time for us to see more upward progress further up the ranks in terms of our pinnacle – the men’s first team – and this management appointment matches that ambition. From my first conversations with Billy [Rouse], it was clear that he is as ambitious as myself and that ambition is to be achieved in the right way of being part of a club from top to bottom. It was so refreshing to have conversation with a like-minded individual.

From a personal point of view, I have got on with Billy for a number of years now and I am pleased that we have ‘got our man’. The future looks very exciting now and we are chomping at the bit to get going.”

Mikey rounded things off saying: “We are Ottery and we bleed blue.”