POOLE Town have confirmed that Steve Tully will become their new permanent manager.

Yesterday Poole brought interim boss James Ellis’ time in charge at BlackGold Stadium to a premature end.

After the departure of Matt Tubbs at the end of February following a run of seven straight defeats, Ellis managed one league victory during his six-game tenure.

With Dolphins now four points above the relegation zone, Poole have accelerated the process of hiring a new manager.

Tully was previously player-manager of Truro City between 2014 and 2016, and played locally for five seasons with Weymouth.

He helped Truro avoid relegation from the seventh tier, before earning promotion to what is now the National South.

In his first season in the sixth tier he led Truro to a play-off finish of fourth place, before it was decided for his contract not to be renewed.

Aside from making over 200 appearances for the Terras, Tully also had a long career in the Football League for Devon clubs Exeter City and Torquay United.

The 43-year-old captained Exeter, playing over 200 times for the Grecians.

Since he has had coaching spells in the academies of Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City, before moving on to become under-18s manager of Bristol Rovers.

During his time with the Gas, Tully also briefly served as assistant manager to Matt Taylor.

Tully becomes Poole’s fourth manager of the season, following the sacking of legendary manager Tom Killick just a month into the campaign.

Killick’s replacement, Tubbs, lasted just six months before resigning, with his first team coach Ellis taking the reins until the end of the season.

However, after another heavy loss, defeated by formless Sholing 3-0 at home, it was decided that a permanent managerial appointment was needed before the summer.

He will be joined in the dugout by Luke Burbidge as assistant manager, the former winger featuring 251 times for Poole Town across multiple spells.

As well as managing Poole’s under-21s, Burbidge was joint manager of Wessex Premier League Shaftesbury earlier this campaign.

Tully’s first game in charge comes this evening, when Poole welcome Hungerford Town to Tatnam Farm (7.45pm).