New Enniskillen Rangers Manager Neil Coulter admits that he took his time before accepting the position – but it is a role that he is looking forward to.

Coulter will step into the shoes vacated by Michael Kerr whose time in the hot seat at the Ball Range club saw them land an unprecedented three Junior Cups in a row as well as two league titles.

Kerr though stepped down last month and Coulter, who has been a key part of the club’s success in recent years, will step in as player-manager.

“It was a shock that Michael left but the club came calling to me and I took my time with the decision just in terms of my work and that.

“It was a tough decision because I’m friends with a lot of the boys in the team, so to make that adjustment is going to be hard but I’ve done it before and hopefully I know how to manage it now. I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

Coulter has previous managerial experience, having led Ballinamallard Reserves to the Mulhern Cup as a player-Manager and he can call on the same backroom team that Kerr had with him in the shape of Brian Khan, Darren Higginbotham Tony Roofe and Stephen McFrederick.

“I know how hard it is to manage and play, but I’ve an excellent team beside me at the minute which I didn’t really have at Ballinamallard because I was thrown in at the deep end by myself.

“The guys that Michael had in place are still on board and that is great,” he added.

Coulter will want to put his own stamp on things, but he is keen to stress that he is more than happy with the squad he has available to him.

“I’m more than happy with the squad that is there at the minute, Michael left me a very, very strong squad and it is just a case of implementing my visions and my thoughts.

“I want to develop my ideas; there is maybe something that Michael didn’t see that I can see, and maybe if I can do that I can push us on that wee bit further.

“Obviously, I would like to add to the squad at some point, but we’ll re-assess that at Christmas time; for now, I’m more than happy,” he said.

And Coulter wants to keep Rangers challenging at the top table.

“You have seen yourself – the Fermanagh and Western goes through wee cycles; Town were very strong for a number of years, then they fell away, and now they are coming back again; after them there was Lisbellaw, then Strathroy and after that it was us.

“We are at that point now that we can go down the way of the likes of Lisbellaw and Strathroy and then be one of those sides trying to get back to where they were, or we can push on again and keep the standards up, and that’s what I plan to do.

“I want to keep the standards high, try and push on all fronts if we can, and also develop players,” said Coulter.