Shaun Antrobus takes over at New Brighton Villa FC

Former Sychdyn championship-winning manager Shaun Antrobus is the new man in charge at tier 4 club New Brighton Villa.

Antrobus’ number two at the North East Wales League Premier Division outfit will be current assistant-manager Liam Evans.

The new boss at the Estadio de Mark Lopez arrives from CPD Sychdyn having announced his departure in May after a second spell as manager.

Antrobus began his managerial career at Sychdyn in 2015 and quickly transformed the club’s fortunes by assembling a squad good enough to claim a North East Wales League and Cup double in the 2016/17 season – their first bit of silverware in 32 years.

Following the conclusion of Sychdyn’s greatest season in three decades, the club folded having been unable to achieve the ground criteria required for promotion to the Welsh National League.

Antrobus quickly moved on to manage Hawarden Rangers’ reserve team and led them to the WNL Reserves Division League Cup final of 2019.

Ahead of the 2019/20 season, Antrobus reformed CPD Sychdyn and guided the club to a fifth-place league finish before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the campaign to a premature halt.

Sychdyn chairman Leigh Griffiths said: “Following Dave Roberts’ departure to Brymbo FC, we identified Shaun as the ideal candidate for the position and were keen to meet him immediately to discuss the role.

“Zoe (club secretary) and I were very impressed with his vision and enthusiasm and following successful discussions we are delighted to welcome him to the football club.

“He came highly recommended as an enthusiastic, ambitious manager who has won trophies in the local area and has assembled exciting squads to compete at the top end of the league table.

“Appointing Shaun aligns perfectly with what we are looking to achieve here and carries on the good work carried out by his predecessor Dave.”

Griffiths added: “I am also delighted that assistant-manager Liam Evans is staying at the club and will be working with Shaun moving forward. Liam is vitally important to the football club and does a lot of unseen hard work behind-the-scenes.

“Being able to replace Dave and Pete was difficult enough, so knowing that Liam is staying put is great to see to ensure there is continuity within the club.

“I look forward to the new season under their management and am excited about the club’s prospects moving forward.”

New manager Antrobus commented: “In May I decided to take a break from football due to work and other commitments.

“That was still the plan up until last week when I received a call from the outgoing manager Dave asking if the chairman could contact me regarding the manager role at NBV.

“Having played and managed against the team over the past 10 years and knowing what a well-run club it is, I instantly got the buzz back for football.

“After I’d met with the chairman Leigh and my new assistant Liam, it was clear we all had the same thoughts on how we can take this club forward and I was made up to be offered the role.

“I’ve made it clear that in terms of the squad, I’m here to build on the good work put in place by Dave, Pete and Liam over the last few years and work with the lads already here as this group of players are more than capable of competing in the new Tier 4 league.

“I’m looking forward to the new challenge and can’t wait to get started.”