Michael Clegg says it feels like coming home after being reappointed as Atherton Collieries manager.

The club announced Clegg’s return two days after parting ways with Dave Chadwick following a poor start to the NPL West campaign which sees the Black and Whites rock bottom after five games with just one point and one goal to their name.

But Clegg, who returns five years after his previous successful spell, is confident they can turn things around.

And he cannot wait to get started - on Saturday week at Consett in the FA Trophy.

Clegg told the club channels: “”I feel like this is my home, this is my town and this is a club I want to make successful again.

“Atherton is a community and we need to start making a positive change here.

“First and foremost we need to pick up points really quickly and regroup. We also need to make our ground a tough place to come to again.”

Since departing the Collieries in 2019, Clegg has enjoyed spells with Ashton United, Warrington Rylands and Macclesfield FC, winning the Manchester Premier Cup with Ashton before spearheading a promotion charge with Warrington Rylands.

He left Macclesfield FC this summer after guiding the Silkmen to the NPL Premier play-off final.

Building upon a nucleus of hard-working, local talent in the squad, in his first stint, Clegg had 300 games as manager, guiding the club through a historic three promotions in five seasons.

His Colls team lifted the league titles in the NWCFL First Division (14/15), NWCFL Premier Division (16/17) and Northern Premier League Division One (18/19), alongside cup success in the NWCFL League Cup (15/16), NPL League Cup (17/18) and Bolton Hospital Cup (14/15).

And he wants to bring the good times back.

He added: “I am really excited - it fills me with joy the times I had here what, five or six years ago now.

“It was probably a gamble for the club at the time when I came over from LR but we stumbled on happy times. There wasn’t many bad times to be honest.

“We all want to bring the good times back and make people in the town proud.”

Clegg is a quick replacement for Chadwick who left by mutual consent on Tuesday after a year in charge.

Commenting on his exit, Colls chairman, Paul Gregory, told the club’s website: “Firstly, I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to David for his hard work at the club over the last year. David joined the club in very difficult circumstances and has been determined in his desire to build a competitive team throughout.

“I want to put on record that it has been a pleasure working with David, as well as James Wightman and Tony Dunn.

“We also wish to place on record our thanks to David’s wider management team, we wish them all the best for the future.”

Further updates on Clegg’s coaching and playing staff will be announced by the club in due course.