MAL Watkins has been appointed the new manager of Maidstone United.

Stones chairman Paul Bowden-Brown made the announcement before Wednesday night’s Kent League Premier Division match against Deal Town at Bourne Park.

Watkins had been in temporary charge since Jim Ward was sacked in December after a run of poor results for the Stones who slipped to seventh in the table and crashed out of the FA Vase.

Bowden-Brown said Watkins, a former boss of Sheppey United and assistant manager at Tunbridge Wells, has been offered the job until the end of the 2004/05 season.

“Mal is a safe pair of hands who knows this club and the players inside out. He has got the players playing for him and for Maidstone United and I believe we have got the best man for the job,” he said.