FORMER Swindon Town defender Adi Viveash has been appointed Cirencester Town manager, with the players already warned he will stand "no nonsense."

Viveash, a former Centurion, will be joined by fellow former County Ground player Paul Hunt as his assistant, with the club looking to turn their fortunes round after last season's relegation from the Southern League top flight.

Chairman Steve Abbley points to the influence Viveash exerted as a Cirencester player and is confident that can be replicated in his first managerial challenge.

He said: "Adi had a long and succesful professional career and completes his A level coaching badge this summer.

"The players he signs will soon find out that he will stand no-nonsense.

"But they will also discover that if they are to make sure they keep themselves fit, listen to the guidance and put what they learn on the training pitch into practice on the field, they will become better footballers."

Swindon-born Viveash made 81 appearances for Town in two spells at the club, between 1988-95 and 2003-04, scoring two goals.

He was handed his debut by Ossie Ardiles in 1990 against Middlesbrough, but often struggled to break into the team past defenders like Colin Calderwood, Sean Taylor and Glenn Hoddle.

After his professional career, Viveash joined Cirencester but after a couple of seasons left in 2006 to focus on his coaching qualifications.

Abbley said: "Adi had a very strong influence when playing for us. He was very effective in bringing the best out of the younger players coming through from the Academy.

"They get a good grounding in the basics and he has the coaching experience to take them from there."

The managerial hotseat at the Corinium has been vacant since Neil Hards' resignation at the end of last season, and Abbley admits the interest in the post even surprised him.

He said: "We had a lot of interest from across the region.

"The quality was such that we interviewed more than half a dozen before fixing on a short list.

"Adi stood out in a very impressive pool of applicants. His ideas, his enthusiasm and his range of contacts reflect his football knowledge and wareness of what works in non league football.

"They make sense and are realistic. The players will know what to do and why they are doing it when they get out on the pitch."

Hunt meanwhile made just 17 appearances for Town between 1989-93 before his release and dropping into non-league football.

His career highlight was a spell at Forest Green Rovers but he has also turned out for the majority of the local non-league sides, including Cirencester.

Hunt has scored goals consistently throughout his career and his appointment will be a boost to the Centurions' fire-power .

The duo start with immediate effect, although Viveash is on holiday until next week.