NEW Ramsbottom United boss Andy Feeley faces a major rebuilding task before the season starts following the departure of many of his players.

The former Bury FC youth team coach was appointed following the shock resignation of Neil Hart, who has returned to West Lancashire League side Turton FC, sparking an exodus of players out of the Riverside.

But the former Hereford United and Leicester City player said he was looking forward to building his own side for the forthcoming North West Counties Division One campaign.

“There is no team at the moment, so I’ve basically got to start from scratch,” he explained.

“I understand many of the players have gone with the previous manager to Turton, but it has been that hectic since I took over I’m not really sure of the exact situation.”

Feeley is no stranger to quality players, having worked with Portsmouth and England star David Nugent when he was coming through the ranks at Bury, as well as Colin Kazim-Richards, who has impressed for Turkey in Euro 2008.

“It was a pleasure to work with those lads and it has been nice to watch them fulfil their potential,” remembered Feeley.

“David came to us at Bury when nobody else would take a chance on him, and we decided to take him on.

“The same thing happened with Colin. A friend rung me up about him, and said he was worth having a look at, and now he has been very impressive in the European Championships.

“But for the last four years I have been mainly scouting for a few different clubs. But it is nice to be in a management position now.

“The main thing is to get a team together.

“I’m not used to losing many games, so the new season is going to be interesting.”