Clipstone have announced the re-appointment of manager Dave Hoole alongside Dale Spragg, who was previously at the Cobras with Hoole as assistant manager and rejoins again as his number two.

The Cobras are re-building having finished the campaign in the bottom three in Toolstation NCEL Division One and they are now awaiting FA confirmation of which division they will be playing in next season.

Hoole brings with him credentials of a modern, successful manager following a spell as the reserve team manager at Matlock Town before he took the first team job on an interim basis.

After one defeat in eight matches, moving from third bottom to mid-table, Matlock then appointed Hoole as the permanent manager in April 2018.

Following this, Hoole took the first team manager reigns at Clipstone in 2019 before departing in November 2021 due to unforeseen work commitments.

Hoole said on his return: "It feels great to be back, and myself and Dale can’t wait to get started again.

"It may be a different league so either way it will be a challenge but one we’re looking forward to, plenty of work to be done rebuilding but relishing all the challenges along the way.

"Clipstone deserves to be higher, the work done over the last three years is nothing less than remarkable to make it a club of first team, reserves, Clipstone Colts, volunteers, staff, managers, committee and supporters, and the future is looking very good.

"Growth and sustainability is something that everyone at the club is onboard with, I know that the support from the fans depends on the games you win and how you win them, playing attractive football.

"So, hopefully, they can all get down and back the boys and the club in our attempts to bounce back."

The Cobras revealed that there was a large number of great local candidates for the manager's position and the committee are hopeful that some of these will become part of the backroom staff to further bolster the future of local talent playing at the club.

Vice chairman Paul Griffiths added: “We've invested a lot of time and money at the club to ensure that we are in a strong position to move forward sustainably.

"With a new reserves team joining the ranks, there will be plenty of opportunities for local talent to shine.

"With the management team still not appointed for the reserves, we are hopeful that we can get some of the applicants involved to allow us to provide one of the best offerings of football at all ages as the pathway from U7s through to first team football is, for the first time, complete.

"We’re thrilled to have Dave and Dale on board again as they share the same ethics and desire as everyone within the club and we are sure whoever they choose to join the backroom staff will share the same beliefs."