Eddie Maurice-Jones returns to Gresford Athletic as manager

The man who led Gresford Athletic in their finest season of recent times is back at the helm.

Eddie Maurice-Jones has today been reappointed first team manager at Clappers Lane.

In his first season as a boss he guided Gresford to the tier-three Welsh National League Premier Division title and League Cup double in 2014/15.

Gresford were promoted to the Cymru Alliance and finished a very creditable sixth in their first season back at tier two level after a five-year absence.

In November 2016, Eddie was appointed manager of Denbigh Town, where he turned the club around from a bottom three to a mid-table outfit, achieving a 10th place finish in the Huws Gray Alliance.

The following season, Denbigh finished in an amazing, best-ever second position, defying all expectations.

Eddie was now in demand and was appointed director of football at Rhyl FC for the 2018/19 campaign, the Lilywhites finishing fifth in the Cymru Alliance.

Last season, Rhyl ended up in ninth place, but the club dissolved and Eddie opted to not apply for the manager’s position at the new phoenix club CPD Y Rhyl 1879, instead deciding to return to Gresford for the 2020/21 Cymru North campaign.

The 31-year-old originally turned out for Gresford in his late teens and is a former Liverpool FC Academy player, whose promising career was cruelly cut short by injury. However, he has found management very much to his liking.

He said: “I’m delighted to have joined Gresford Athletic. It is a club that I have great respect for and I have found lots of great memories there.

“To be given the opportunity to return to my local club, where it all started, is a privilege and I look forward to working with the staff, players and committee.”

Eddie replaces the departing chief Richard Capper and assistant Nick Ward in the hot seat at Clappers Lane.

Current Gresford director of football, Steven Halliwell, who took over from Eddie in 2016-17 and led the team to a highest-ever third place in the Cymru Alliance, said: “Once I found out that Richard Capper was going to be stepping down and that Nick Ward was also, my attention turned straight to Eddie.

“I’ve been good friends with him for years and I feel that coming back into the club, alongside myself, is a perfect mix.

“He’s had a few years away and gained valuable experience in the JD Cymru North and I’m sure, together, we can achieve good things at Gresford Athletic.

“We, as a club, have gained one of the most highly-sought after managers in Welsh football and that in itself is a huge statement from us.”

Also joining the club alongside Eddie is Alan Williams, who has been appointed Gresford’s first team coach.

Alan previously worked at Athletic during the 2015/16 season and has also been part of Eddie’s management team at Rhyl.