Antony Williams wants to take AFC Croydon Athletic up the leagues after being named manager of the newly-formed side.

The 31-year-old former Merstham boss was unveiled last night by the club that was formed by supporters of Croydon Athletic - who went out of business in January.

He brings with him former Crystal Palace striker Andrew Martin, manager at Merstham before Williams and pictured below playing for Whyteleafe, as first team coach, as the club prepare to begin their football life on August 4 having been confirmed in Combined Counties Division One for the new season by the Football Association.

"I am delighted to accept this exciting position," said Williams.

"I was extremely impressed after meeting the committee - the amount of work that has been achieved by the members in this short space of time has been remarkable.

"The opportunity here is a tough challenge starting from scratch, which is what excites me the most.

"A lot of work needs to be done in a very short space of time to ensure we hit the ground running and give back to the very loyal fans a team and football club they can be proud of."

Club chairman Paul Smith added: "We received a lot of replies to our advertisement and many came with plenty of experience, enthusiasm and excellent credentials.

"But we believe that Antony, working with Andrew, stood out from the crowd and are the right people to take the club forward and establish it in the Combined Counties League.

"They share our ambition and we are all looking forward to an exciting season."