KIDDERMINSTER Harriers striker Steve Guinan is the club’s new academy manager.

The 37-year-old, also a first-team coach at Aggborough, has left his role at Hartpury College to take up the full-time position at the academy’s Stourbridge College base.

Also head coach of the England Universities team, Guinan, who has gained his UEFA ‘A’ Licence, replaces Jerry Gill who left in February.

He said: “Fundamental to the club’s future success will be the development of the academy.

“An important part of the plan is to promote players to the first team through our own academy and hopefully this will give our young academy players a real lift to know they will have another person fighting their corner.

“From a first-team perspective we are very clear about what the club needs in terms of the types of players who can make an impact but we need to recruit well at all academy and development age groups in order to be successful.”

Guinan, who led the Hartpury academy side to back-to-back British Universities and Colleges Premier League titles, will remain registered as a Harriers player.

Kidderminster chairman Mark Serrell added: “His record as a player is second to none but, perhaps more importantly now, his career as a coach stands on its own and his record with Hartpury is superb.

“The development of our young players not only with their football but also educationally has never been so crucial and Steve is without a doubt the ideal candidate to keep driving the academy forward.”