GARRY Hill is poised to be named new Weymouth manager today, Echosport can exclusively reveal.
The former Hornchurch and Dagenham and Redbridge boss has landed the Wessex Stadium job after agreeing terms with chairman Martyn Harrison.
Hill moves into the Terras hotseat just a week after the sacking of Steve Johnson.
Weymouth officials were today remaining tight-lipped over the new manager’s identity, but Hill is set to be officially unveiled at a Wessex Stadium press conference later today.
The Essex-based tactician beat off a host of other experienced candidates for the post including ex- Shrewsbury boss Jimmy Quinn, former Terras manager Stuart Morgan and Lewes’ Steve King.
The appointment comes after a frantic 24 hours at the Wessex Stadium which saw chairman Harrison threaten to walk away from the Conference South club following a volatile internet-based row.
The millionaire hotel owner offered to quit after messages from former board members – some offering to buy some of Harrison’s majority shareholding – appeared on the club’s unofficial message board.
Less than a day earlier previous boss Johnson blamed his sacking on fans’ internet comments having too much influence with Terras officials.
Hill led full-timers Hornchurch, dubbed the Chelsea of non-League football, to the top of the Conference South table earlier this season.
But he quit the big-spending Essex club in January after a financial collapse meant they nearly went bankrupt.
Hill made his name in the non-League game during a five-year stint at Dagenham and Redbridge, turning them from a struggling Ryman League side into a top Conference outfit.
After guiding the Daggers to the Ryman League Premier Division title in 1999/2000, Hill’s side finished third in the Conference the following season.
They went one better a year later, narrowly missing out on promotion by goal difference to Boston United.
The Victoria Road club again fell at the final hurdle in 2002/03, losing a promotion play-off final to Doncaster Rovers.
Hill steered his side to notable FA Cup runs during his spell in charge, losing narrowly to Norwich City in a last 32 tie and other high profiles clashes with Charlton Athletic and Ipswich Town.
Things turned sour for Hill though last season when Dagenham failed to hit the heights of previous league campaigns.
And the boss, who quit before moving to Hornchurch last summer, was also involved in a racism controversy involving Telford’s Fitzroy Simpson.
Although the charges were never proven, the row sparked the exit of two of Dagenham’s black players including top scorer Mark Stein.
