GEORGE Rooney is the new manager of Bromsgrove Rovers.

The worst kept secret in local football was confirmed last Thursday when the former Worcester City boss was named as successor to Gary Hackett and Jon Ford at the Victoria Ground.

Rooney, who has stood down from his role as an Aston Villa scout, also hopes to bring in Doug Griffiths as his assistant and add Dennis Mulholland to the coaching staff.

He has a tough act to follow though after Hackett and Ford finished third with Rovers in their first season in the Dr Martens Western.

But Rooney is itching to get started and bring his own style to the club.

He said: "I want to get my tracksuit out, get coaching and get the side playing the way I want it to play.

"I have been in football all my life and I just thought the time was right to come back to it. It's such a big club. It's been at the very highest level of non-league football and it's a long way from being back at that."

And Rooney knows he will be working under a tight budget with chairman Tom Herbert.

"This year we have got to try and adhere to the budget and our aim is to achieve as a high a position as is humanly possible," he said.

"From my point of view we have got to create a reputation for being a fair club in terms of our dealing with players but we will also have to get the reputation that it's not a place where you come if you want to earn big money."

The new boss also wants to iron out some of the factors he believes let Rovers down last season.

Rooney added: "The disappointing thing for the club was the inability to be tough and grind out the results in January and February, traditionally the hardest part of the season.

"I think defensively they were as good as anyone last season. Where it fell down was the inability to score against teams closest to them."