FORMER Cherries football operations manager John Yems has been appointed as the new head coach of Crawley Town.

Yems was initially brought to the Dorset club by then chairman Eddie Mitchell and spent six years at Cherries as part of Eddie Howe's backroom team, helping the side up from League One to the Premier League.

He departed Vitality Stadium in June 2018 following the expiration of his contract.

Yems has been hired at Crawley on a deal until the end of the 2019-20 season with the Reds sitting 17th in the League Two table. Previous boss Gabriele Cioffi left the club earlier this week.

It is a second spell in charge of the club for Yems, having previously guided them to Conference safety on the last day of the 2007-08 campaign.

After leaving Cherries, Yems has been working in scouting for various clubs, including Newcastle United.

“It is an absolute honour to become manager of a club I hold in great esteem," Yems told the Crawley website.

“I have seen quite a few of our games this season and I think we have a very good squad.

"You don’t beat the likes of Norwich City without having decent players, so I think our future is very bright."