I’m ready, willing and able – that’s the message from new Market Drayton Town manager Neil Woolliscroft after he took on the third biggest job in Shropshire football.

The 50-year, a former junior professional at Manchester City, was confirmed in the Greenfields hot-seat at a committee meeting last night.

And Woolliscroft – who has been at FC Hodnet in the County Premier League for the past three seasons – is confident of meeting the challenges of rising no less than FIVE levels to Evo-Stik League division one south.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” said Woolliscroft, who also had a spell in charge of Market Drayton under 21s and Tigers teams in the past.

“When I moved down to the area 20 years ago and it was a job I always hoped that I would get a crack at one day.

“It will be a tough one following in the footsteps of Simon Line and Delwyn Humphries (former manager and assistant sacked three weeks ago) but I want to try and build on the platform from there.”

Woolliscroft’s links with the Tigers and FC Hodnet raises the prospect of a greater emphasis on homegrown players in the Drayton squad but the boss is determined to keep hold of the hulk of his existing squad.

“I’m hopefully meeting with the players on Friday,” added the man who took Hoden from the Shropshire Alliance to the County League Premier Division, as well as defeating Haughmond to win the League Cup on his final game in charge on Saturday.

“I’m sure they will be a little bit apprehensive and may have some concerns.

“One of them might be whether I’m ready and good enough to step up to this level and I certainly think I am.

“I know it’s a result business and my own personal ambition is to finish in the top half of the table and have a couple of good cup runs.

“If we can do that in my first season that would be reasonable but I’m very ambitious and don’t like losing.”

Woolliscroft has already started building a backroom team with Shifnal based Darren Williams joining him as assistant, while Mick Murphy remains from the Line regime as first team coach.

By JAMES GARRISON