AFC Telford United today announced the appointment of Andy Sinton as their new manager, the former England international declaring: “I’ll take this club forward.”

Sinton, 44, has signed a two-year contract to succeed Rob Smith in the New Bucks Head hotseat, having impressed the Telford Board with his managerial record at Hampshire minnows Fleet Town.

His assistant has yet to be unveiled, though chairman Lee Carter insisted it would be someone with “good experience at Blue Square North level”.

Former QPR, Sheffield Wednesday, Spurs and Wolves man Sinton enjoyed five years at Fleet – guiding them to three play-off campaigns in the Ryman League.

But the Solihull-based ace, who won 12 international caps, believes he is ready to prove himself at a higher level.

“I’ve done my apprenticeship and had five great years at Fleet,” said Sinton today.

“Pound for pound, with the resources I had, I don’t think there’s another manager out there who has achieved what I have achieved.

“Telford gives me a challenge and a chance to satisfy my ambitions and become a better manager.

“There is hard work ahead and I don’t have a magic wand, but I’m convinced I’m the right man for the job.

“I’ve got bags of enthusiasm and energy, and no-one will work harder. It’s my job to get this club moving in the right direction again.”

Sinton inherits a side that finished a disappointing 11th in the Blue Square North last season, and currently has just three players – defenders Shane Killock and Sean Newton and striker Danny Carey-Bertram – under contract.

But he has already identified the remaining players he would like to retain, and is set to hold one-to-one talks with his squad in the coming days.

“In my own mind I already know who I want,” he confirmed. “I quickly need to speak to them now, whether by phone or in front of them.

“The budget has been cut from last season and I will have to do a bit of wheeling and dealing, but I’m not going to make wholesale changes – it just needs tweaking a little bit.”

Sinton will continue in his day job as a fire alarm salesman for a company owned by the former Fleet chairman Graham Smith.

And he is confident that he will be able to produce a match-winning team to challenge at the top end of next season’s Blue Square Bet North.

“What I want from the players is commitment,” he added. “I want them to be proud to play for the club and for me.

“First of all I want to produce winning football – as I have for the last three, four or five years.

“I was a winger myself and I want my teams to be attacking as well as well organised and fit.”

By CHRIS HUDSON