IAN Ridley and his fellow board members are close to appointing the new manager of Weymouth FC.

Chairman Ridley has narrowed the shortlist down to one candidate he believes is best placed to fill the void left by interim boss Bobby Gould at the end of April.

The Mail on Sunday journalist has informed fellow club directors of his preferred choice and will await their feedback before any appointment is made.

Ridley said: “We’re close to making a democratic decision on who will be the new manager, we just want people to be patient.

“I’ve prepared a report for the board, which they will consider, and in it I’ve made a recommendation of who the new manager should be. In the next 48 hours we hope to contact the successful candidate, and the unsuccessful ones, and hopefully have a new manager in place.”

Bridport manager Ian Hutchinson, who made more than 500 appearances for the Terras in a 12-year spell, has refused to rule himself out of the running while Marcus Browning is also among the front-runners.

The Terras will ply their trade alongside rivals Dorchester Town in Blue Square South next season after suffering relegation from non-League’s top flight.