'Baptism of fire' for Town's new supremo

The 47-year-old started at Greenhous Meadow yesterday, a week before Town stage one of the highest-profile games in their history with the FA Cup fifth round tie at home to Manchester United.

Caldwell said: "It's going to be an interesting baptism of fire, so we'll see how that goes.

"It would have been nice to have one game to see how that went before coming to the big ones – but you might as well start as you mean to go on."

Caldwell, who had been in a similar role at St Mirren for eight-and-a-half years, praised Williams' work.

He said: "I've dealt with Matt when I was with St Mirren when Matt was at Blackpool. We exchanged emails before he left.

"By all accounts, he's done well here and has a good reputation in football. Hopefully I can continue the work."

Williams placed engagement with the community at the heart of his vision for Town and Caldwell wants to continue that approach.

He said: "The community side of things is going well – it's something I've taken pride in and built up at St Mirren.

"With the good work Jamie (Edwards, football in the community manager) has been doing, I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with his team.

"It's all about engagement- – I'm very much into that. We had a fans' council at St Mirren, comprising 15-20 fans from all walks of life and, hopefully, we can galvanise everyone together.

"We'll be open to suggestions for things fans think we can improve."

Caldwell has visited the club several times since the fifth round draw was made to ensure a smooth transition, and will relocate to the area.

He said: "It's ideal to meet everyone. My wife now has a job here, so we're looking forward to living in Shropshire."