MICK Stockwell will be looking to give Woodbridge Town the same commitment he gave Ipswich Town during his lengthy career at Portman Road.The 39-year-old has taken over as manager of the Ridgeons League Premier Division club following the departure of Colwyn Rowe.

By Elvin King

MICK Stockwell will be looking to give Woodbridge Town the same commitment he gave Ipswich Town during his lengthy career at Portman Road.

The 39-year-old has taken over as manager of the Ridgeons League Premier Division club following the departure of Colwyn Rowe.

It will be his first experience of management having spent a short spell as coach at Heybridge Swifts at the start of the season.

He then joined Woodbridge as a player and helped them survive a relegation scare.

The utility player, who was a good servant of Colchester United for a few seasons after leaving Portman Road, said today: “The time is right to move into the management and coaching field.

“I know about Woodbridge Town having played for nearly a full season and I am looking on it as a long-term venture.

“I shall be looking to do as well as possible and it will be interesting to see how far we can take the club.”

Stockwell will carry on playing as long as he feels he has a part to play on the pitch, and his number two will be club stalwart Marty Thorpe.

“Over the years I have picked up bits and pieces from a number of managers. Some I will be now be putting into practice and others I will be letting go,” said Stockwell.

The new manager has the close-season to assemble a squad before the start of the new Ridgeons League campaign in August.

Meanwhile, former Woodbridge Town manager Colwyn Rowe has just signed a contract to teach sports courses at Otley College and will be using the facilities at his previous club to offer more choices and opportunities to future students.

The deal is the start of a long-term plan that aims to bring together two vastly different cultures with the aim of benefiting the football club, Otley College students and the community of Suffolk as a whole.

Otley will also be using some of their horticultural experience based on campus, as they try to help improve the quality of the pitch at the Ridgeons League outfit.

The college has already sponsored a recent seven a-side football tournament at Woodbridge Town and more joint initiatives are planned throughout the year.

Rowe said: “This is fantastic news for everybody involved in this deal and I believe that this partnership has the potential to be successful over many, many years.”