Soham Town Rangers appoint King’s Lynn Town’s academy director Alex Cross as new manager

Soham Town Rangers have confirmed the appointment of Alex Cross as their new first-team manager.

The Greens have been on the look out for a new boss ever since Brett Whaley, who arrived at Julius Martin Lane in May, stepped down last month.

And Cross, who will retain his role as the academy director at King’s Lynn Town, is the man that has been selected to take Soham forward.

The UEFA-licenced coach has previously held various roles within the youth set-ups at Cambridge United, Notts County and Boston United, as well as being academy manager at Bradford Park Avenue and assistant manager and opposition scout at AFC Stamford.

He also had a spell as interim first-team manager of King’s Lynn in the Vanarama National League North earlier this term.

A Soham statement read: “This appointment comes at an exciting time for Soham Town Rangers.

“Huge strides are being taken to improve community engagement and develop a progressive player pathway within the club, and Alex has the skills, vision and enthusiasm that match the club’s ambitions.

“We would like to extend to Alex a warm welcome to the Soham Town Rangers family, and wish him well for the future, starting with Saturday’s fixture away to Hadleigh United.”

Meanwhile, King’s Lynn added with a statement of their own: “The club would like to congratulate academy director, Alex Cross, on his appointment as first-team manager at Soham Town Rangers. We gave Alex permission to reach an agreement with Soham earlier on in the week after it became clear that his work at King’s Lynn Town would not be affected if he was to take up this position.

“We wish Alex all the best in the role and we look forward to working closely with Soham Town Rangers, who currently have three players from the club in Charlie Royle, Luis Cowie and Daniel Wombwell.”

Sam Spencer and Lee Chaffey, who were placed in temporary charge of the team following Whaley’s exit, will be part of Cross’ coaching staff as assistant manager and player-coach respectively.