IAN Britton was last night confirmed as Kidderminster Harriers' fourth manager in the last 19 years.

The reserve and youth team chief has stepped up to the Aggborough hotseat, following in the footsteps of Graham Allner, Phil Mullen and Jan Molby.

The 45-year-old has impressed the board as caretaker boss over the last five Division Three games and now has the tough task of running the team on a strict budget next season.

Chairman Colin Youngjohns admitted the decision was "the best financial option" but he was also keen to keep some continuity at Harriers.

Britton said: "I am absolutely ecstatic. I would not have thought at the beginning of the season that I would get a chance to manage a Football League club, especially a club I have been associated with for such a long time.

"I will bring lots of enthusiasm, commitment and endeavour to the job and we will go from there."

He added: "It will be consolidation next season. Fortunately, we have a lot of players already tied up on contracts. I am fortunate enough to take over a good side."

Britton has already released five players - Ian Clarkson, Tony Bird, Ben Davies, Peter Faulds and trialist Michael Keegan.

And the ex-Bridgnorth manager, who has been at Aggborough since the early 1990s, has offered deals to Scott Stamps, Richie Appleby, Ian Foster and John Danby.

Youngjohns said: "Ian's been here for about 11 years. He knows what we are about and we know him. I am confident he will be able to handle the job.

"He's got a very good relationship with the players and the performances while he has been caretaker have been excellent. We haven't won all the games but then you don't expect to.

"It's all about continuity and Ian has been an important part of that. We want to keep it going.

"The fans may have been thinking we were going to get Sven-Goran Eriksson but we are under severe financial constraints because we have unsustainable overheads. In the opinion of the board, this is the best financial option."

He revealed: "There has been a lot of interest in the job but the applicants would have been much more expensive in some of the cases."

Britton has given up his job as a loans adviser to accept a two-year contract.

An assistant manager/coach is yet to be secured, although Youngjohns hinted it may be an internal appointment.

Harriers' coffers have been boosted by a compensation agreement with Hull City for Molby and Gary Barnett who will join the Dane as assistant.

The amount is rumoured to be less than the £100,000 Molby's contract was said to be worth when he resigned.

A clause prevents anyone involved discussing the figure and Youngjohns could only say: "It's an amicable settlement."