FORMER Evesham United manager Paul West has joined the Redditch United board to work with the club’s newly appointed general manager.

And he admits it was the chairman Chris Swan’s passion and vision for the Reds which persuaded him to link up with his home town club.

West, 46, said: “It's an honour and a privilege to be asked by Chris to join the Redditch United board.

“I spoke to the chairman at some length and it was his passion, vision and the exciting plans he has for the future of the club that were the catalyst for me joining.

“My aim will be to focus on developing the infrastructure in terms of the commercial activity, the community and links with local businesses and schools.

“These are very exciting times and the appointment of new general manager David Lawrence shows everything is moving in the right direction.

"By working with him and the other hard-working directors, staff and volunteers, I’m confident we can continue to grow the club and achieve our goals.

“I'm relishing the challenge and confident that we can build a football club that the town can really embrace and be proud of.”

The new director has made it clear that his arrival will not affect new Reds boss Darren Byfield, who's currently building a new team for the 2016-17 season in the Southern League Premier.

West started out at Alcester Town but earned a move to Port Vale before spells at Bradford, Wigan and Morecambe before joining Evesham.

He took over as manager at the Robins and enjoyed a successful spell, guiding the club to the FA Cup first round for the first time in the club's history.

He said: "I am here to work with Chris and Dave and help the club grow behind the scenes.

"It's about working in the community and looking at how we can improve the commercial side."

West runs a successful Redditch engineering company working primarily in the aerospace industry and it is his extensive business knowledge and network of contacts that the Redditch United chairman is keen to tap into.

“Paul in the perfect match for what we are doing here at the football cub,” Swan said.

“He is a highly successful businessman who has extensive contacts around the area and who wants to see the football club prosper.

“His appointment to the board further enhances the expertise and knowledge we have here at the Valley Stadium as we look to take the Reds to the next level.”