FAIRFIELD Villa FC have appointed management team Paul Oakes and Lee Shaw with the daunting task of rebuilding the beleaguered team.

Oakes and Shaw joined the Recreation Ground club on Monday from Northfield Town FC.

Oakes has already pledged he and Shaw will target players from the Bromsgrove and Redditch area to rejuvenate a team, which finished second from bottom in the Midland Combination Division One last season.

He said: "At the moment I don't really know about the players we have already at the club.

"I will be contacting them in the next few days to speak with them.

"But Lee and I are very enthusiastic to really add some local players to the side.

"There is a lot of untapped potential in this area."

The duo has a reputation of nurturing young players.

They cultivated a whole group of gifted young players, many who caught the eye of Midland Alliance sides, such as Studley.

Oakes and Shaw also masterminded Northfield's three wins over relegation battling Villa last season and guided them to seventh place in Division One.

He said: "The time was right. This just felt like the right move for Lee and I.

"It's a fresh challenge after having some good times at Northfield Town.

"At the moment we're going to have a look at the players we have here and so what the next step is."

Chairman Paddy Eades admitted to the Advertiser/Messenger that Shaw and Oakes had been their top targets to replace Neil Gallagher, but that their appointment hinged on if the club stayed in Division One for the 2005/2006 campaign.

Villa should have been relegated to Division Two last season after finishing second from bottom.

However, with Tipton Town Reserves pulling out only one side went down - handing Villa a reprieve to the chairman's relief.

Eades said: "If we had gone down we might not have been able to attract Paul and Lee to the club, so it was imperative that we stayed up."

"We obviously had other candidates who were confident of bringing in good players if we had went into Division Two.

"But it will be easier to attract players now we are in Division One.

"Paul and Lee have been our main targets for the manager's post.

"Their record at Northfield was excellent and we're all excited about the idea of bringing local lads into the team.

After last season there is quite a bit of rebuilding to do for the team."

By Peter McKinney