The committee and everyone involved at the club fully support Rhys’ decision to step down, but he will be sorely missed and leaves a big hole to fill.

Rhys re-joined the club as manager in 2011, after previously leaving his role as manager, to coach at Newtown Football Club. In 2010/2011, the first team had done well in their first season in the newly formed Spar Mid Wales Division 2 under Daryl Griffiths, who invited Rhys along to continue the good work, with Daryl stepping back to become assistant manager.

In 2011/12, the first team narrowly missed out on promotion to Division 1 by 1 point, but won the ER Jenkins Division 2 Cup. They then went on to secure promotion to Division 1 in 2012/13, winning the league with only one defeat, and retained the ER Jenkins Cup.

In 2013/14, the club won the Central Wales Cup for the first time, with a memorable 2-0 win over Berriew at Latham Park. In 2014/15, the club made history, winning the Mid Wales League for the first time, winning promotion to the Cymru Alliance for the first time. They also lifted the Montgomeryshire Cup for the first time that season, and went on to win it 3 years in a row after that.

Rhys guided the first team through two tough, but exciting seasons in the Cymru Alliance, before getting relegated back into the Mid Wales League in 2017. Rhys took a brief spell out of management towards the end of the 2017/18 season due to family reasons before returning for the 2018/19 season, which saw the first team win the Mid Wales League again with a memorable last day victory at Kerry. The club then spent another season in the Cymru Alliance before COVID19 hit in 2020, finishing the season in a relegation spot on points per game.

Rhys’ magnificent success, guiding the team to numerous trophies will always be fondly remembered. Signing so many local players who were inspired by Rhys to play for their local club has been magnificent for the town, and Rhys has included numerous local people in the management staff too, who have all helped the club to become so successful.

During the past 10 years, Rhys has played a huge part in using his role as manager to help form a ladies team, a youth team and he has created a strong link in the community, with the local high school, seeing numerous youngsters come through to play for the senior sides. Even jobs such as washing the kit after a game when needed or marking the pitch, have never been too much for Rhys during his time as manager.

Everyone at the club would like to thank Rhys for everything he has done. He leaves on incredibly good terms and we wish him all the best with his new endeavours.

The club is now actively seeking a replacement. If you are interested in the first team manager role, please email us at llanfairunited@gmail.com