CHERRIES coach Mark Molesley has today been appointed as the new manager of non-league Weymouth.

Molesley, interim boss of Cherries under-21s, has replaced Jason Matthews at the Southern League Premier Division outfit.

The 36-year-old was player-coach under Matthews at the Bob Lucas Stadium, having joined the Terras in July 2015.

“I am very honoured and privileged to be given the opportunity and I am really looking forward to the challenges ahead," said Molesley.

“The lure of the club, with its fantastic fan base, as well as its size and potential, is big.

“They were big factors in why I wanted to get involved with the club and why players want to play for the club.

“I think it’s a really interesting project with huge potential.”

Molesley was chosen ahead of a number of experienced candidates, understood to have included Gosport boss Alex Pike, former Eastleigh manager Chris Todd and ex-Weymouth, Torquay and Exeter defender Steve Tully, who also managed Truro in National South.

He will be assisted by Paul Maitland, who was also Matthews’s number two, and Bashley boss Tom Prodomo and Bashley goalkeeper Joe Prodomo who will both take up coaching posts.

Londoner Molesley took the under-21 reins at Vitality Stadium after Stephen Purches had stepped up to become first-team coach under Eddie Howe and will continue his full-time role with Cherries.

Molesley was one of Howe’s first permanent signings in January 2009 after originally joining Cherries on loan from non-league Grays Athletic.

He was a key figure as Cherries escaped relegation in 2009 and scored five goals in 60 appearances for the club.

Following spells with Exeter and Aldershot, Molesley signed for Weymouth and returned to Dean Court in a coaching capacity in August 2015 when he joined the academy set-up, working with the club’s under-15 age group on a part-time basis.