The chairman of Wingate & Finchley has described it as “an extremely exciting appointment” after Nicky Shorey and Glen Little were confirmed as the club’s new management team.

The pair take charge at the Maurice Rebak Stadium after the club parted company with Keith Rowland and bring international, Premier League and Step Three experience to the Bostik Premier Division side.

Wingate have stated that nine UEFA A Pro License holders and international footballers applied for the post and chairman Arron Sharpe told the club website: “Never did I dream of the calibre, quality or number of candidates who would submit applications. It was a full-time job on its own. However, we managed to whittle it down to three outstanding young promising candidates and I could have given the job to any of them to be honest.

“However, the team of Nicky Shorey and Glen Little covered every aspect that we would ever want and I can tell you that it is an extremely exciting appointment.”

Former defender Shorey, who last coached at Stevenage, is best remembered for his time at Reading, but he also appeared for West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth during a 17-year playing career that saw the 37-year-old win two England caps.

Little is also a former Royals player but it was at Burnley where the winger spent the longest part of his career, making 246 appearances from 1997 to 2004.

The 42-year-old most recently coached at Grays Athletic.