Colchester United have appointed former West Ham and Stoke midfielder Kevin Keen as their new manager.
The club had been searching for Tony Humes' successor since he left by mutual consent last month and Keen watched the U's take on Rochdale with chairman Robbie Cowling on Saturday, a match they lost 3-1 at Spotland.
The appointment sees 48-year-old Keen take on his first full managerial role following caretaker positions at West Ham and Macclesfield in recent years.
The club confirmed on Twitter:
#ColU are delighted to welcome Kevin Keen as the club's new manager. More details to follow! pic.twitter.com/YLmhdsXUN1
- Colchester United FC (@ColU_Official) December 21, 2015
Caretaker boss Wayne Brown had previously said he would be interested in the role permanently but ruled himself out of the process last week after speaking with the chairman.
Colchester are currently bottom of League One and have not won a game in the league since Oct. 20 despite getting through to the second round of the FA Cup where they will face Championship side Charlton.
Keen's first game in charge will be the Essex derby against Southend on Boxing Day.
David Wright has been confirmed as Keen's number two as he makes the step up from coaching the club's under-21s as the next chapter of Colchester's history gets under way.
Keen stressed he was taken by the club's philosophy as he takes the reins, saying: "I have ideas in my head of how things should go and how they play.
"I wanted this job because of their philosophy.
"I am really pushy when it comes to young players -- if they are good enough they should be playing.
"I have seen a few of the players at the training ground this morning but I will meet most of them tomorrow.
"We need to put our heads down over the next few days. Confident we can make strides in the next few days and start going in the right direction.
"I am really looking forward to the games ahead."
On next month's winter transfer window, Keen added: "I will be out there looking, let's have a look at the squad and see what we got."
While chairman Cowling admitted he felt Keen was the right man to lead the U's up the table.
He said: "The fact that Kevin came available helped. I wanted someone I could trust and I tried to get him to the club as an assistant manager a couple of years ago.
"Wayne [Brown] will go back to the Academy. He has done brilliantly but we felt David was the right man [for assistant]. Was it fair on Wayne? Probably not.
"We've worked hard the last few years and I think this year we were ready but we have been unlucky.
"We looked internally and there could have been a few changes but most have stayed the same apart from the first team."
Regarding, whether any transfer funds would be available next month, Cowling added: "There will be some [funds in January]. I promised Kevin we are going to have a look and do what we can."