CALLUM Brooks admitted he had been enticed to Hamworthy United by chairman Steve Harvey's "three-year plan for promotion to the Southern League".

Brooks has left his role as assistant manager at Poole Town to take the reins at the ambitious Sydenhams Wessex Premier outfit, reports Jack Tanner.

The 33-year-old replaces Brendon King who left the County Ground after leading Hammers to fifth, the highest finishing position in the club's history.

Brooks, son of former Cherries star Shaun Brooks, cut his teeth in management at New Milton, guiding the Linnets to 11th and sixth in Wessex One in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

He took over at Fawcett's Field after New Milton had been relegated from Wessex Premier in 2013.

Brooks, who had a short spell with Crystal Palace as a teenager, was initially appointed first-team coach and under-21 manager at Poole before being promoted to assistant boss at the start of the 2015-16 season.

“I can’t wait to get going and am really excited," said Brooks, who also had talks with Gosport and Andover Town. "It had to be the right opportunity to leave Poole.

"I spoke to a couple of clubs over the past year because, long term, I have always wanted to manage. But I didn’t feel like they were quite right.

“It was the project here that really enticed me into joining. I had a good chat with Steve and everything feels right in regards to how I work, want to work and what the club is looking for in the next three years.”

A UEFA B qualified coach, Brooks currently works at LEAF academy and is known for his emphasis on developing young players.

He added: “We want a proper pathway for youth players, with a young and hungry side, willing to work hard yet play attractive football, football that people want to come and watch.

“I think working with Tom Killick and everyone else at Poole gave me a really good grounding. I managed at a similar standard to this under difficult circumstances previously and, with the tools we had to work with, had some degree of success.

“That earned me an opportunity at Poole where I got to coach players who had played at a very high standard.

"I also worked under a fantastic manager, someone who has done a brilliant job for 14 years, which we probably won’t see again.

“Tom works in quite a different way to me so I can take bits that I might not have necessarily considered before. I was very fortunate to work at Poole and wish them all the best going forward.”

Hammers chairman Harvey said: “Callum more than ticks all the boxes in terms of what we want the club to become over the next three years.

"Our aim is to be the most attractive local football club and that means there are opportunities for everyone.

“It’s not about throwing money at it, like we might have done a bit last season. It’s about bringing in someone and giving them the best we can to build something substantial and meaningful."