Daisy Hill have appointed Lee Hill as first-team manager following the departure of Leighton Mills.

And he has wasted no time in adding to his coaching team with Tom Brown also appointed, who will combine his new role with playing for the club.

Hill has served the club previously over a number of years, both as a player and as a member of the management team.

He first joined Daisy Hill as a first-team player in 2006 and played at various stages from 2006 to 2014, in between numerous tours of Afghanistan over a 22-year career in the Army.

He then returned to New Sirs in the summer of 2021 as assistant manager to Mills for the 2021/22 season, helping the team to their joint highest ever league finish of eighth and the highest points total for more than 20 years, as well as narrowly losing in the final of the Bolton Hospital Cup.

He also played in a number of first-team games during the season.

Hill then moved up into the Northern Premier League (West) last season with Clitheroe FC, working closely with highly-regarded coach Kyle Hall, and again having success by helping the team achieve their furthest ever run in the FA Cup and playing a role in them later achieving a place in the play-offs.

Hill was on the move again during the 22/23 campaign to Radcliffe in the Northern Premier League, again working with Hall, as well as Bobby Grant and Colin Hendry, to help Radcliffe win their first trophy in 15 years, lifting the Manchester Premier Cup, and again achieving the club’s highest ever league finish.

The strength and conditioning coach is a qualified personal trainer and a high-performance coach with FA coaching and scouting badges and has also previously had spells coaching at Step Five club Newark Flowserve in the Midlands Premier Division.

Brown, meanwhile, brings a wealth of coaching experience as he holds a UEFA B coaching license and has been coaching at Blackburn Rovers Academy for a number of years.

Away from coaching, he has a fantastic playing pedigree, spending a number of seasons in the NPL representing FC United of Manchester, Radcliffe, Colne and more recently Daisy Hill.

Daisy supporters will be pleased to hear that Brown will also be back lacing his boots up again as a player, as well as being part of the management team.

Hill said: “Myself and Tom are delighted to be returning to Daisy Hill in a management capacity, and believe we can help restore the club back to where it should be.

“Daisy Hill is our local club and we have both been involved here in the past, so we understand the club and are fully on board with the ethos of getting back to being a community-based club, playing good honest football that gives local players a chance to play at this level.

“Browny and myself have already started planning for the new season, as there will likely be a lot of changes, with lads from last season potentially deciding to leave the club.

“So, identifying players who we think can fit the way we want to play early is crucial, as we look to rebuild the team and re-establish Daisy Hill as a solid mid-table side in the short term, with lads who are proud to wear the shirt and give 100 per cent every time they step on to the pitch.”