RIDGEONS Division 1 side Ipswich Wanderers have announced the appointment of former Birmingham City, Bristol City, Colchester United and Northampton Town striker Ian Brown as their new head coach.

IPSWICH Wanderers have appointed former Birmingham City, Bristol City, Colchester United and Northampton Town striker Ian Brown as their new head coach.

Brown, will also work with manager of the Ridgeons Division One side, Steve Buckle, as his assistant.

Manager Steve Buckle said, "We have made the fundamental decision to have a completely new approach to football. If we are going to revitalise the fortunes of this club we had to do something very, very different.

“Ian was selected because of his track record of developing players and his in-depth knowledge of the game.

"The detail Ian went into when we met for talks in terms of his approach and the knowledge he has of football are second to none."

After leaving Northampton Town in June 1996, Brown played for Sudbury Town, Cambridge City, Braintree Town and Maldon Town.

More recently he has been involved in coaching youth and reserve team players at Whitton United where he has been involved in developing young players who have gone on to play for professional clubs such as Derby County, Southend United, Cambridge United, Peterborough United, Colchester United and Ipswich Town or Whitton United's reserve and first team.

Ian Brown said, "I am absolutely delighted to be working alongside Steve who I have known for years and have a lot of respect for. This is an opportunity for me to improve and develop further. I believe that a coach should always be open to new ideas and want to continually improve their individual skills and knowledge of the game."

Pre-season training starts at Ipswich Wanderers on Thursday June 19 at 7.30pm. Training will take place on Tuesdays and Thursday's thereafter.

The club's annual general meeting will take place at Humber Doucy Lane at 7.30pm on Monday.