The former Dundalk and Bohemians defender James Coll has moved into management at Athlone Town, taking over the job vacated a week ago by Liam Buckley who returned to another of Coll's old clubs, St Patrick's Athletic.

Coll, who had played in Monaghan United's last two league games, was one of several candidates considered for the St Mel's Park job this week but, having been offered the post on Thursday, he joined his new assistant Jimmy Green and the rest of the squad for training last night.

"It's great for me to be going back to the club I started my League of Ireland career with," said the 36-year-old Scot yesterday.

"You only have to look at the 4,000-strong crowd they had for the Shamrock Rovers cup match last season to get an idea of what the potential down there is; a lot of good work has been done over the last few seasons. The target for the club has got to be playing in the Premier Division and that's what we'll be aiming to achieve over the next season or so."

Due to his brief stint with Monaghan, Coll won't be eligible to play for his new club until next month but, he says, the time on the sideline will give him a chance to assess the strengths and weaknesses of his squad before he decides whether any chances need to be made.