RUGBY Town have appointed Grant Joshua as the club’s new manager to replace former boss Ian King.
Joshua led Coleshill Town to a ninth-place finish in the Northern Premier League Midlands this season.
The 37-year-old also guided Coleshill to the final of the Walsall Senior Cup.
And Joshua replaces King in the Butlin Road dugout after the latter departed the club following Valley’s relegation from the NPL Midlands.
Joshua said: “Regardless of recent history, this is a monster of a club and one I will get back to where it should be, with the help of the supporters who we will need every week, home and away.
“Sometimes you have to deviate from your planned path when an offer comes from a club as big as this.
“It wasn’t a possibility a week ago, but it’s not one I can turn down with the size of the club and the project that’s been presented to me.
“The owners and I had an hour on the phone last week and then a three-hour meeting in person, and sometimes you get a homely feel of a place – and that’s what I had when I left.”
Joshua’s backroom staff of Chris Rabone and Ross Harris will join him at Butlin Road.
He previously managed Lye Town for just over three years and won promotion to the NPL Midlands with the Black Country club.
And he narrowly missed out on a play-off place in Lye’s first season as a Step Four club.
Joshua moved to Coleshill at the start of the 2024/25 campaign and spent one season with the club.
Town director, Neil Melvin said: “Grant is already a proven manager at a young age, having shown his quality and potential with impressive spells at both Lye Town and Coleshill Town.
“He shares our passion and ambition to get the club back to the level that befits our fanbase, our facilities, and our expectations.”
