BUILTH Wells have announced a new coaching set-up with Jason Samuel and Stuart Turpin jointly leading the Bulls on a charge into the 2021/22 season.

That new season will begin in July, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) announced this week, with the Bulls currently set to start in Tier 4 of the pyramid, although they have previously cleared Tier 3 ground criteria and the lingering Covid-19 pandemic could still see things shaken up domestically.

Samuel and Turpin are both former Builth players, with Turpin between the posts during some of the club’s most successful periods recently, while Samuel was assistant during that period to former manager Dylan McPhee, who stood down in November.

“I’m really excited and can’t wait to get started,” Turpin said of the appointment.

“I’ve been talking to Jase and the committee for a while so it’s nice to get something announced.

“It’s a club that means a lot to me. I’ve had some of my best playing days here, especially in recent years, where we have to be really thankful to former manager Dylan McPhee and ex-chairman Chris Jones for the work that they’ve done.

“They’ve set some really strong markers that Jase and I have to continue that, but improve as well, and make Builth as successful as we can. It’s a really close-knit community and even though I’m an outsider you can be on the street and people will talk to you and seem to know who you are, even if you don’t know who they are.”

Even though the pandemic has left many clubs, players and coaches feeling forlorn and led to mass player exoduses at many clubs, Builth look likely to retain almost the entire playing squad that earned a third-place finish in the Spar Mid Wales League Division 1 in 2019/20.

And with a host of burgeoning youngsters too, Turpin is hoping to build on recent successes – in addition to decent league performances, Builth made the quarter-finals of both the Central Wales Cup and Spar League Cup in that 2019/20 season, and won the League Cup a year earlier against Caersws before going on to beat Llanfair United in the Summer Cup final.

“The club has been really successful the last few years,” added Turpin. “We’ve got a good squad and we want to be stronger, as well as develop from within.

“We want to make Builth as strong as possible in Mid Wales. I don’t see why we can’t be one of the best sides in the area. Hopefully we can get a good buzz around the town now that football is on the way back.”

The appointments have been welcomed by Builth chairman Tom Price, who said: “I’m delighted to be moving forward as a club with Jason and Stuart at the helm.

“Jason is a titan of Mid Wales football on the field and has already been a huge part of Builth’s success in recent years as part of the management team.

“Stuart has been a stalwart for the club as a player in recent seasons and the club has been greatly encouraged by the sheer weight of his enthusiasm to be part of the continuing development of the club now his playing days are coming to an end. We wish the boys all the best for the future and we will support them in any way we can.”