Tommy Widdrington: Aldershot replace interim boss Ross McNeilly with former King's Lynn manager

Former Southampton midfielder Tommy Widdrington managed Eastbourne Borough before joining King's Lynn in December 2021

National League strugglers Aldershot Town have replaced interim boss Ross McNeilly with former King's Lynn Town manager Tommy Widdrington.

Widdrington, 51, resigned from the Linnets on Saturday after 15 months in charge at The Walks.

McNeilly took over on a temporary basis until the end of the season after Mark Molesley was sacked last October.

But Shots chairman Shahid Azeem said they "needed to make a change" with the club five points clear of relegation.

McNeilly will return to his former role running the club's academy, with Azeem thanking him for his "huge effort and hard work since stepping up from academy manager back in October."

Widdrington leaves King's Lynn second in National League North, five points behind AFC Fylde in the only automatic promotion place.

With six games to go in the Shots' National League campaign, Widdrington's immediate task is to secure their status in the division, with the two teams immediately below them - Gateshead and Yeovil - having three games and one game in hand on them, respectively.

The Shots play Yeovil at home in Widdrington's first match in charge on Friday.

"When notified of Tommy's resignation, [we] wanted to act quickly to secure the man that we believe can help us with the final push towards mathematical safety," Azeem said.

First-team coach Mark Hughes has been appointed interim manager for the rest of the season by King's Lynn.