BRIGHTLINGSEA Regent chairman Terry Doherty believes new manager Kem Izzet is a "perfect fit" for the R's.

The Colchester United legend was unveiled on Tuesday and replaces Tom Rothery, who stepped down in late September.

His first game will be Saturday's BetVictor Isthmian League premier division trip to Worthing.

Despite being impressed with both the quantity and quality of applicants for the position, Doherty is convinced his club have appointed the right man.

"Kem's a club man and a family man and that means he'll fit in with our ethos," said the R's chairman.

"We're very excited and look forward to working with him.

"He's been a coach for a long while and now he wants to make his mark as a manager.

"He's the chief and he's the one in the hotseat, looking to express himself.

"I put some feelers out to various people and only heard positive things.

"When we spoke to Kem on Sunday, he ticked all the right boxes and said all the right things.

"He's very keen to work with and bring through young, hungry lads and that suits us a club, because we haven't got the money to sign big-time players on high wages.

"Kem fits the bill perfectly in that respect because he gets most enjoyment from working with young players, helping them develop and watching them progress through the ranks.

"It'll give our youngsters the impetus to push on and they know that if they do well, he'll bring them through and use them.

"Another big plus was the fact he knows and is happy to work with (assistant manager) Pip (Boyland).

"Pip's someone we wanted to keep because he's an established part of the club.

"The same goes for (goalkeeping coach) John (Albon) and (kitman) Alan (Wright).

"Some of the other managers we spoke to were of a good pedigree but wanted to bring their own staff, but that's not the direction we wanted to go in.

"It might have upset the infrastructure of the club."

Izzet has joined from East Thurrock United, where he was first-team coach under manager John Coventry.

Doherty felt that was a plus and said his new manager's CV speaks for itself, having made over 400 appearances for Colchester.

"Kem's been working under John Coventry and he's a brilliant and well-respected manager at East Thurrock," he said.

"He's a quality guy and someone he would have learnt a lot from.

"We know Kem anyway from his time at Stanway Rovers and obviously his record speaks for itself, in terms of his playing career at Colchester.

"He's worked at this level and higher, whereas some of the other applicants hadn't been at step three before.

"He's also local and has contacts at Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich.

"He knows the area and knows players and scouts, which can only be a positive.

"Overall, he's a perfect fit and out of all the guys we spoke to, he was the best candidate."

Doherty confirmed that the club received around 15 or 16 "serious" applications.

That figure was whittled down to three, before Izzet discovered the job was his on Monday.

"I was impressed with both the quality and quantity of applicants. Both were excellent," said Doherty.

"There were one or two we dismissed straight away, because we didn't think they'd fit in.

"Then there were another couple who have been doing well at a lower level but we didn't feel they were quite ready at this stage.

"Maybe if we'd had more points on the board, we might have been prepared to take a gamble.

"But we're in a position where we need someone to come in straight away and help us climb the league."