Leighton Town appoint Reed as new manager

Reed replaces Gary Flinn, who left the club in September with the club winless in the SPL Division One Central.

Head of football Guy Kefford has been in interim charge ever since, initially seeing an upturn in form with three straight wins.

But the Reds have now gone four league games without a victory, although they were 2-0 victors over Dunstable Town in the Beds Senior Cup on Tuesday night.

Reed, who has experience coaching in the academies at Tottenham Hotspur and Luton Town, was confirmed as boss in a club statement on Friday.

It read: “After finalising adjustments to his career and personal circumstances, Paul, (Reedy), is now able to commit fully to the club, hence the delay in confirming what had been agreed in principle some weeks ago.

"As ever, the club has acted with integrity and patience, ensuring that the correct protocols were followed to secure his appointment. The club would like to put on record our sincere thanks to our true supporters for their understanding and patience as we worked to bring this process to a conclusion.

“Reedy, an outstanding coach, and UEFA 'A' licence holder, has considerable experience in both the Luton Town and more recently Tottenham Hotspur academies. With the continued support of Guy Kefford and new first team coach Kyle Durcan, (Luton Town FC Academy and a UEFA B licence holder), the club has a strong, well-balanced management team ready to address the challenges we face in our quest to become a successful Step 4 club.

"The club is in the process of recruiting further members of the management team to establish a young, ambitious, well qualified and talented coaching team who can build a club brand based on high quality match preparation, coaching and player development.

"Guy, who has done a superb job in holding the reins, will gradually withdraw from 'hands on' team matters and concentrate on a more strategic role in overseeing player recruitment and talent identification.

“The new management team recognise that there is much work to do to make the team more consistent in their performances and results. This will of course take time, and we ask supporters to be patient and to understand that there will be a period of transition as their expectations, identity, structure and style of play are embedded into the culture of the squad and across the club.

“The club will be organising a 'Fans Forum' in the coming weeks where supporters will have the opportunity to meet the new management team and hear about their plans and priorities moving forward. Details will follow once a date and time has been agreed.”

Leighton will host third-placed Aylesbury United at the Freed Veneers Community Stadium on Saturday.