CONNELL Rawlinson heads a cast on nine players released by TNS this week.

The 26 year old defender has linked up with English League One side Port Vale following eight years at Park Hall.

Defenders Steve Saunders and Ryan Pryce and midfielders Robbie Parry and Wes Fletcher are joined by Jacob Farleigh, Aron Hughes-Jones, Aron Jones and Andy Wycherley in completing the departures.

Meanwhile Craig Harrison has been appointed manager of Bangor City.

The six time Welsh Premier title winning ex-TNS manager has been out of work since a spell at the helm of Vanarama Conference club Hartlepool United.

Harrison will be tasked with securing promotion from the Huws Gray Alliance following the club’s demotion from the Welsh Premier due to financial reasons.

Harrison said: "Bangor City is a huge club and the problems here have been well documented, but for me with the history of the club it is the biggest domestic team in the Welsh league system.

"It is a massive club and I am really looking forward to getting back into football and getting them back in the Welsh Premier League.

"I am at a point where I wanted to get back involved and things didn’t work out at Hartlepool, but after speaking to Stephen Vaughan, looking at the facilities and working for TNS I know all about the club and we need to be challenging at the earliest opportunity.”

Harrison also stated his confidence that he is fully prepared for the upcoming challenge in the second tier despite his inexperience operating at this level.

"I spent two years at Airbus where we were picking players from the Huws Gray Alliance level and it is somewhere where I have spent time watching lots of games in preparation for cup games. I am hoping to get the right backroom staff in who also have plenty of experience at this level.

"I have spoken to players about how to move forward and now I can really get my teeth into it. We have got to get back in the Welsh Premier League as soon as possible, there has been a lot of heartache here in recent weeks but we have got to use all the positive energy to not look back and get out of this league and compete in the cup competitions.”

The club has also announced that Harrison has been working hard to acquire signatures that will be announced in the coming days with City legend Les Davies already returning to the VSM Stadium following his release by Bala Town.

"I will be speaking to the players under contract in the next 24 hours and if they are in then great, but if not they move on," added Harrison.