JIM Harvey has pledged to try and bring the feelgood factor back to The J.Davidson Stadium after being appointed Altrincham's new manager.

The former Northern Ireland assistant-manager has yet to decide on a number two but wasted no time stamping his mark on Alty's fortunes, against Chorley on Tuesday night.

He had vowed to leave team affairs to caretaker trio Jake Moult, Alan Goodall and Shaun Densmore, after being named boss only 24 hours earlier, but couldn't resist marching into the dressing room at half time to instigate a tactical reshuffle.

It helped safeguard a hard-fought 2-2 draw, after five straight defeats, and gave him something to build on for Saturday's trip to Gloucester.

"Altrincham's history speaks for itself, renowned cup fighters and giantkillers, and I would like to get that good feeling back in the club again," he said.

"I've seen how results have gone in recent weeks, and there is clearly a job that needs doing.

"Confidence is a big factor in football.

"Clearly something is not right, so we will come in and have a look at that and see what can be done.

"We will try and resolve the problems and get the club going forward again."

Chairman Grahame Rowley was delighted with the response to the vacancy, created by Neil Young's resignation, and is confident the board have identified the right choice to revive Alty's fortunes after a recent slump in fortunes.

"We had a high-calibre field of applicants for the job, which again shows the stature the club has in the eyes of a lot of people," he said.

"In the end, after due diligence and a lot of discussion, the board felt that Jim was the number one candidate.

"With his experience in this league, we felt he was the ideal choice to steady the ship and take us forward.

"He presented a long-term plan, full of good, positive ideas for progressing the club, and we are looking forward to seeing them put into practice."

* Returning keeper Tim Deasy is Altrincham's nomination for Conference player of the year at this year's MBNA North West Football Awards, while Sam Heathcote is the club's pick for the Rising Star award. The awards take place at Lancashire CCC's Old Trafford on Monday, November 14. Voting for all Player of the Year and Rising Star Award categories is open until noon on Friday, October 21. Fans can cast their votes and view the full list of nominations at northwestfootballawards.com/vote/