FORMER army physical training instructor Tony Mee has been appointed as York City’s new academy manager.

Mee joins the Minstermen having fulfilled the same role last season at Rotherham United, where he has been on the coaching staff since 2002 after completing 23 years with the Services.

His past roles with the Millers have included running the club’s under-15 and U16 teams, as well as a spell as assistant youth-team coach.

Mee also holds the UEFA ‘A’ Licence and is a qualified boxing, basketball, volleyball and swimming coach too.

He has first-hand experience of implementing the Premier League and Football League’s Elite Player Performance Plan and will work with new youth-team coach Richard Dryden, who assisted former under-18 chief Steve Torpey last season prior to the latter’s promotion to the senior staff following Nigel Worthington’s arrival at Bootham Crescent.

On the club’s new youth coaching set-up, Worthington said: “Tony will be a good addition at the club.

“He has EPPP knowledge and will oversee everything and work with Richard.

“We were looking for an individual who met certain criteria that the role requires.

“Tony’s name popped up and, when myself and Steve talked to him, we felt he was the right man.

“Richard will be the new youth-team coach and I like his manner and way with the younger players.

“He has good experience and good knowledge of the game of football and there will be times when I take him with Steve and myself to do bits and bobs with the seniors, while Tony takes care of the youngsters.”

Having promoted Torpey from youth-team coach to first-team coach and then assistant manager, Worthington admitted that Dryden’s new role also represented the kind of staff continuity he feels will benefit young players at the club.

“It’s good to have that,” he said. “It’s like Steve slotting in with me.”

Worthington, who handed youth-team graduate Tom Platt his professional debut before starting him in the final six games of last season and gave fellow teenager Tom Allan his first senior start in April, also wants Mee and Dryden to prioritise player development over match results, adding: “You want a winning mentality throughout the club but, at youth level, that does not come first and foremost.

“It’s important to still have it but trying to produce players is probably just as important, if not more so, in terms of the benefit to the club.”

Worthington is now concentrating on his final addition to next season’s training team – a new goalkeeper coach to replace Fred Barber.

On that situation, he revealed: “We have spoken to a few people and myself and Steve are currently talking about that situation. We should be able to announce something next week.”

• Ex-York City loan forward Chris Iwelumo has joined Scunthorpe. Iwelumo, 34, was released by Watford at the end of last season.

As the Iron welcomed the former Scotland international striker, though, midfielder Jimmy Ryan left for Chesterfield.

Elsewhere, Morecambe have signed Macclesfield’s French defender Tony Diagne and Martin Riley has moved from Wrexham for a second spell with Mansfield.

Newport, meanwhile, have made Cheltenham winger Chris Zebrowski and Oxford midfielder Adam Chapman their first summer recruits.