NEW Porthmadog manager Steve 'Midge' Williams, who takes charge of his first game at Bangor 1876 on Monday, has made his first signing.

The club lost 4-0 against the same side at the Traeth on Boxing Day - the last game with Craig Papirnyk at the helm - and Williams has brought in club legend Mike Foster as first team coach ahead of the game at Nantporth.

Williams said: "I’m pleased to announce my first signing for the club in the form of club legend and new first team coach, Michael Foster.

"Mike or ‘Fozzy’ as he’s known to his friends is no stranger to the club having made over 350 appearances and was also a previous first team captain. He also has over 400 appearances in the then League of Wales.

"Fozzy will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge of the game and what it takes to perform at the required level.

"He’s also a local lad and knows exactly what it means to wear that famous red and black Port shirt.

"Personally I am made up to bring Fozzy in and looking forward to working closely with him and getting our season back on track starting with the New Years Day clash at Nantporth against Bangor 1876.

"There will be further announcements over the next few days regarding the management team and new players."

The club welcomed Steve to the role of club manager to succeed Papirnyk, a very big decision but in many ways an easy one, once it was decided to follow a policy which the club have used over many years, that of promoting from within.

Chairman Phil Jones said: “ It is what we did when we appointed Craig and we have made similar decisions several times in the past.”

Steve Williams certainly fits this pattern, a Port boy, who represented the club as a player before going on to serve as coach at all levels within the club.

His wealth of coaching experience persuaded the board to invite Steve to take over the role stating he is “...well qualified for the job as he has a UEFA "A" coaching licence and an array of contacts in senior and junior football.”

His coaching experience goes back over two decades starting while still a player at the club, coaching the Porthmadog Juniors before taking over as Academy Director at the Traeth in 2003, overseeing the establishment of an FAW accredited academy.

He has spent two spells at the Caernarfon Academy, the first in 2015 before returning in 2020.

Here he has coached the development squads as well as the Reserves. In between these two spells he gained WPL experience during a two-year spell coaching Llandudno’s senior team during a successful period at the top level.

His commitment and love of coaching is clear as, in addition, he has coached the juniors at Nantlle Vale as well as the Gwynedd Schools U13s.

Steve has worked with many experienced managers as he seems to have been preparing for this moment. And now he will be in charge of his hometown club.