CHAIRMAN Mike Burke insists he is confident there will be no conflict of interest after naming Brendan Kelly Bromsgrove Sporting’s new permanent manager.

Paul Smith’s resignation on Wednesday saw his right-hand man Kelly promoted to the top job with Burke revealing the appointment had not been made on a caretaker basis.

A flurry of names did the rounds, including strong speculation that Stratford Town manager Carl Adams had been sounded out, but Burke scotched those suggestions and backed the new man to see through Sporting’s promotion dream.

“I have known Brendan for years,” said Burke.

“He has played and been an assistant manager at a high level in the past and I believe he can take this club forward and win the league.

“He has the opportunity to show he is the right man to take us to the next level alongside his management team.”

Asked about Kelly’s link with Smith, Burke said: “That was always a worry but I sat down with Brendan and am confident.

"I spoke with people he has worked with at a higher level and they could not praise him enough.

“I needed that reassurance but Brendan also needed that reassurance from me, that he would not be used for a few weeks.

“No chairman can promise a job forever but he is confident, as am I, in his ability to achieve promotion.

"He is confident we will be asking him to do the job beyond the end of the season.”

On the link to Adams, Burke said: “No one from this club has contacted any other manager.

"There was all sorts of speculation but I always intended to go to Brendan if things went pear shaped with Paul.

“There have been five managers or assistants approach us, some from higher levels, but unless something drastic happens we are happy to back Brendan and it is his job.

“If he is successful, why would we look anywhere else?”

On Smith’s resignation, Burke said: “We had an independent person there to chair the meeting, a respected local person who is a life-long fan.

“He started by saying he would ask for both sides of the story in turn in an attempt to try to find a way forward we could all agree on but Paul said he would be bringing forward his resignation and that nothing further needed to be discussed.

“We apologised to the chair of the meeting for wasting his time. We had expected more of a discussion but it was not to be.”