Derek Gardner is targeting promotion in his first season with the A's- and with a track record which includes being coach of a top Cape Town club, Durbanville, and also winning four promotions with Tring in four years- the 48-year-old has reason to be confident.

ARFC has endured a torrid last couple of seasons, which has included relegation to the Southern Counties North League and then only narrowly avoiding a further drop in the last campaign.

But Gardner said: "When I met with Aylesbury's committee they were very genuine and I felt I could turn the club's fortunes around and get them heading in the right direction again."

The Haddenham man, who came over to England in 1998, continued:

"I didn't know the club personally, but I watched their decline from a distance which was heartbreaking as it is a big club and Aylesbury is a fantastic town.

"This season we will try to win the league until it is mathematically impossible- if you don't set a good target you wont achieve anything.

"Looking at the talent here, promotion is a realistic prospect.

"Everybody has got to be pulling in the right direction and I get a sense that is already happening.

"Tring realised it was not a crime to win a league and then there was no stopping them," he added.

Aylesbury chairman, Dean Gray, said: "He appealed on all levels, he's a good communicator and comes from a successful club.

"The aim for us is to be promoted and we certainly want to be in the top four as a minimum this season."

He revealed that the club had looked both internally and externally when choosing the new head coach.

The two joint caretaker headcoaches at the end of last season, Julian Jones and Gareth Collings, had both been considered, but the club eventually went for someone who would bring new ideas and a fresh approach to the Ostler's Field outfit.

Collings, who has been named as an assistant coach to Gardner, together with Nathan Brooks, said: "Derek is in now and I'm happy to work with him, its a good appointment.

"There is certainly a different approach, there seems to be a lot more enthusiasm and enjoyment in the preseason training and so everything seems to be going well.

"He has brought a different attitude and mentality to the club."