Poppies make their move as Leese is unveiled as club's new manager

The 60-year-old arrives at Latimer Park having left Isthmian League Premier Division side Enfield Town at the end of last month.

Leese had been with the Towners for six years after taking over in May 2017 and led Enfield to the play-offs in the 2021/22 campaign before they finished in ninth place in the table last season.

During his time at Enfield, Leese also won the Isthmian League Cup in 2019.

Previously, Leese was at the helm at Chesham United for 11 seasons, taking charge of over 500 matches and guiding the Generals to one promotion, multiple play-off finishes and a memorable FA Cup run in 2015, which eventually ended in a 4-0 defeat to Bradford City in the second round proper.

Now, after a 10-day search, the Poppies have turned to the experienced manager to lead them into the Southern League Premier Central next season after they were relegated from the Vanarama National League North at the end of the previous campaign.

“I am delighted to be here,” Leese said.

“I came out of Enfield Town and for the first couple of weeks I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.

“The game is what I know and love so I started looking around and this opportunity came up quite late. I put my details forward to Ken (club president Samuel) and got a call to come over,

“I knew it would be a difficult job to land. It suits me geographically with where I live and I have spent a lot of time at this level.

“I’m just delighted to be here and looking forward to it.”

Leese replaces Lee Glover, who resigned on May 28, and becomes the 62nd manager in the club’s history and sixth Poppies boss in the last four years.