Jimmy Ball arrives as the new manager of Torquay United

Torquay United have lured Jimmy Ball away from National League South rivals AFC Totton to succeed Paul Wotton as the Gulls’ new manager.

The 50-year-old son of former World Cup winner Alan Ball arrives at Plainmoor after a run of impressive success at Totton.

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He capped four years at the Snows Stadium by winning promotion to the NLS last season, and he has consolidated the Stags’ new status this year, including two home wins over United, one in the FA Cup and one in the league.

Ball still had 15 months left on his contract at Totton, so the Gulls will presumably have had to pay compensation to secure his signature.

Ball, whose broad-based coaching career has included jobs at Winchester City, Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City and Stevenage as well as spells in Eire and the USA, oversaw the whole of Totton’s football operation, from Under-7s up to the first team.

It remains to be seen if he has the same responsibility at Plainmoor, although it may have been a positive factor in his favour.

He arrives two and a half weeks after Wotton was sacked, a period in which United’s football advisor Neil Warnock has overseen four matches (W2 D1 L1) with help from his former assistant Ronnie Jepson.

It’s not yet certain whether Ball will be bringing his own No.2 to his new job, but he was due to take his first United training session on Thursday, ahead of testing matches at Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday and NLS leaders next Tuesday night.