DARLINGTON have confirmed the appointment of Josh Gowling as their new manager, with the 39-year-old described as the "perfect fit" to replace Alun Armstrong after his dismissal earlier this month.

Gowling, who has been out of work since leaving Hereford in February this year, will take charge for the first time when Quakers host Gloucester City on Saturday.

Former Darlington midfielder Danny Rose has returned to the club as Gowling's assistant manager.

Quakers received more than 30 of what the club describe as "very good quality applications" and held interviews with nine candidates. Gowling, say Darlington, was the "unanimous preferred candidate of the interview panel".

Gowling had an 18-year playing career as a centre-half which started at West Brom, before he moved on to play for AFC Bournemouth, Carlisle, Gillingham, Lincoln City, Kidderminster, Grimsby, Torquay, Alfreton and Hereford, making more than 500 appearances in total.

He was appointed Hereford's player manager in 2020 after Russell Slade's exit and led the Bulls to the FA Trophy final the following year, losing to Hornchurch. He also guided Hereford to the first round of the FA Cup last season.

Rose returns as Gowling's assistant having only left Quakers in the summer to join Cleethorpes.

David Johnston, Darlington's chief executive, said; “I was extremely impressed by Josh when I met him last Sunday, and I could understand why he had been recommended for the job by several people.

“He seems a perfect fit for us, in terms of his playing philosophy, his coaching methods, his standards, his interaction with fans and his involvement with the local community and academy.

“Everybody is eagerly looking forward to working with him and we are confident that our fortunes will start to improve under him. I would urge all Darlington fans to support him as much as possible, beginning with the big game on Saturday against Gloucester.

“I would like to thank Will Hatfield, Jake Lawlor and Tom Platt for all their hard work in looking after the team in the last two matches and give Josh something to build on.”

Darlington are currently bottom of National League North having won just one of their first nine games this season. Saturday's opponents Gloucester are just a point and a place above Quakers in the table.