Claridge takes over at Weymouth

The well-travelled striker bagged 12 goals for Millwall in Division One last season, and had been offered a fresh one-year deal at The New Den, but has opted to drop down four divisions and start a career in management.

The 37-year-old had also been offered a contract to play for Dallas Burn in Major League Soccer, but decided that he would continue to play on this side of the Atlantic.

Claridge has played for a number of clubs, including Leicester City, Portsmouth, Wolves and Birmingham, and won theWorthington Cup with The Foxes.

Weymouth chairman Ian Ridley, who stepped in to save the club from extinction six months ago, was delighted to have got a high-profile player to come and take over the reins at the Devon club.

He said: "We have been amazingly lucky to get him. Steve has the image of a knockabout character but he is a far shrewder person than that.

"He is very astute tactically and he is also the best judge of a player that I know."

The Terras' financial problems have been well documented over the years but there is some good news on the horizon.

Supermarket giant Asda have confirmed their desire to buy the current plot of land occupied by Weymouth, and build a new purpose-built stadium in the town.

The club would also receive around £1.2 million.