Kidderminster Harriers have appointed former Torquay United boss Paul Wotton as the successor to Adam Murray at Aggborough, handing him the job of leading the club back into the National League.

Wotton arrives after Harriers secured promotion with victory over South Shields in the National League North Promotion Final, only for Murray to depart for Barrow just days later. The move sets up an early reunion next season, with Wotton and Murray now set to face each other after Barrow were relegated from the Football League.

For Harriers, the appointment brings in a manager with deep experience in the lower leagues and a track record of getting teams moving in the right direction. Wotton made more than 500 appearances for Plymouth Argyle across two spells at Home Park during his playing career, and also turned out for Southampton, Oxford United and Yeovil Town. After retiring, he moved into coaching with Plymouth.

His first managerial role came with Truro City in 2019, where he later guided the club back to National League South level after four years away and took them up through the play-offs in 2023. He then joined Torquay United, and in his first season in Devon he finished second in National League South, level on points with champions Truro City, before Torquay lost in the play-offs to Boreham Wood.

Wotton left Torquay in March after a heavy defeat to Chelmsford City. That run across two Devon clubs is what Harriers director of football Dean Holdsworth pointed to in backing the appointment, saying Wotton stood out from the first conversations as the kind of leader the club wanted and that his experience, standards and mentality matched the club’s ambitions.

Kidderminster said Wotton’s first interview as the new manager would follow later in the week, giving him little time before the next stage of planning begins. The challenge is clear: turn promotion momentum into a side capable of settling back into the National League, while a familiar rival waits on the other side next season.