GRAYS Athletic have appointed Mark Bentley as caretaker manager as the club continues its search for a permanent replacement for Jody Brown.

Bentley, 36, who made more than 100 appearances for Southend United in his career, has been assisting owner Andy Swallow and fellow player Glen Little since Brown's unexpected departure the week before Christmas.

And Swallow has now decided to hand the temporary reigns to the former Shrimpers star, who has been with the Ryman Premier League club since the start of the season.

In an earlier statement Swallow said: "In the short term I'm going to hand the team to Mark Bentley with my full support while we go through the process of choosing a new manager.

"I couldn't of handed it to him straight away as he was going away on a pre-planned holiday. It will take a lot of time to get the right manager and I can't do both so I will allow Mark to stamp his authority on the team.

"His experience will be vital."

Last week, Swallow told the Gazette that Bentley was in the frame to replace Brown and he will have his chance to stake a claim for the role in the coming weeks, with his first match to be against Kingstonian on Wednesday at Mill Field.

An announcement on a permanent replacement is expected in the next few weeks.