Hitchin Town have named a very familiar and very popular name to replace Mark Burke as manager.

Brett Donnelly had three spells with his hometown club as a no-nonsense, old school centre forward and when he hung up the boots, he joined Burke on the sidelines as his assistant.

His first leap into the big chair came at Stotfold in May 2021, taking them from Spartan South Midlands League Division One to the Southern League Division One Central, their first time at the level, with two successive promotions.

The lure of Top Field though has proven too much and his immediate job will be to guide the Canaries out of relegation trouble in the Southern League Premier Division Central, starting with a home game against AFC Telford United on Saturday.

Chairman Andy Melvin said: "We had a fantastic response to our request for applicants and it was a difficult process to shortlist candidates for interview, such was the high calibre of contenders.

"All applicants commented on the reputation of the club, the respect for the way in which it is run, the atmosphere created in the historic Top Field ground and the fantastic support from our fans.

"This highlights the regard in which the club is held across the football community and I would like to thank everyone involved in the club for helping to make it such an attractive proposition for prospective managers to join.

I would like to thank all candidates for the time they devoted in making their applications and those who were shortlisted for showing us their passion for the role and for helping to drive the future success of Hitchin Town."