DORCHESTER Town have announced Jody Rivers as their new first-team coach.

The move also confirms Trevor Senior as assistant-manager for a third successive campaign.

However, Rivers' introduction places into question the future of talisman Nathan Walker, who joined the club in a coaching role last season.

The centre-back is known to be facing a dilemma over a new work schedule, which could harm his chances of staying at Dorchester.

Having started coaching in 2005, Rivers has spent the past seven years as the director of coaching at the Matt Le Tissier Natural Coaching Academy and previously spent four years with AFC Bournemouth working with a range of youth and development squads from under-nines to under-23s teams.

Rivers also visited some of the top academies across the world including FC Barcelona’s famous La Masia, Athletic Bilbao, Sporting Lisbon and Liverpool’s International Academy in Michigan, USA.​​​​

Rivers said: “I’m massively excited to be joining Dorchester because first and foremost of the history of the club – living in Salisbury I’m not too far away, so I know about the history and the prestige of the club, some of the players and managers that have been here in the past, so for my name to be put alongside them I’m very proud.

​​“I know about the fan base as well, how people are expecting exciting things for the future which is positive, and obviously to work with Callum (Brooks, manager) is a big plus point for me as well personally.

"I worked with him at Bournemouth in the academy, and his dad Shaun is probably the biggest influence on my coaching career in how he made me see the game, so me and Callum have always had respect for each other, we’ve always got on well and kept in contact.

​​“The beauty of it is that even though I’ve only been officially appointed, we’ve had three or four weeks of conversations on the phone in where he sees my role and how I can support the team.

"I see myself as a coach – that’s where my strength is, my CV is coaching. First and foremost I’ll be supporting Callum and Trevor in any role that they see fit, but on the coaching ground is where I come into fruition with the players, whether that is helping set the team up or improving individual players.

"I’ve worked at Matt Le Tissier’s Natural Coaching for seven years now, and that’s been a really exciting role in academy and youth football where I’ve got a lot of experience and I'm looking forward to continuing coaching youngsters.

​​“I’ve picked up a lot of knowledge from the places I’ve visited and I’ve been lucky enough to visit some of the best academies in the world.

"To bring all that knowledge back, it’s good for me because I’ve been able to put that in to young players and see them develop, but now the challenge I really see is can I drop that knowledge into and improve the football club that only sees itself going in one direction. ​​​​

“I think the aspirations of the football club match my own in coaching – that’s to play positive football and win games ultimately to take us up the league.”​​

​​Speaking on the newest addition to his coaching team, manager Callum Brooks said: “I’ve known Jody a long time now and he’s always someone that has stuck in my mind.

"You know how big I am on enthusiasm and passion for football and for coaching, and he’s probably just about the most enthusiastic and passionate coach I’ve ever come across.

​​“He’s backed that up with going out around the world attaining knowledge and applying that, so when I found out he might be possibly looking to come into this level of football he was one of the first people I had a chat with, and I knew there was a good chance that chat was going to go well because of what I’ve witnessed in the past.

“We’ve put a very strong group together on the pitch in all departments and now I need that to be replicated in the management department, so Jody will come in and work alongside myself, Trevor, Steve (Dodge, goalkeeping coach), Emma (Tonkin, physio) and Del (Taylor, kitman).

​​“I want Jody to be completely immersed in the tactical and technical detail of the football side of the club. What he is going to give me is the ability to put more detail into the way we improve every player individually, every player within a unit of the team from defence, midfield and attack, and the opportunity to improve the team as a collective as well as us as coaches.

​​“I’m really looking forward to having Jody in my camp this year and I have no doubt he will help us take this club to the next level.”​​