NEWPORT County AFC manager Terry Butcher has confirmed the appointments of Russell Osman and Steve Marsella as he continues to build his team on and off the pitch.

The pair have been working behind the scenes with Butcher at Rodney Parade for more than a month but they are now officially club employees after contract negotiations were finally completed.

Osman, a former teammate of Butcher’s with Ipswich Town and England in the 1980s, knows the area well having played for and managed Cardiff City in the 1990s as well as brief stints as boss at Bristol City and Bristol Rovers.

Most recently, Osman has been working at Ipswich Town, managing the U18s of his former club. He left Portman Road in August 2013.

Osman played alongside Butcher in the Ipswich defence when they won the 1981 UEFA Cup final against AZ Alkmaar.

The 56-year-old Escape to Victory star will be Butcher’s assistant, while Marsella has a dual role as chief scout and goalkeeping coach.

He worked with Butcher at Brentford, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Hibernian as a talent-spotter, chiefly responsible for suggesting lower league players ready to make the step-up in their careers.

Among those players indentified and signed for Inverness, was former Exiles defender Gary Warren.

The 47-year old from Huddersfield, was most recently goalkeeping coach at Grimsby Town.

His previous jobs include managing Leeds United Ladies and coaching keepers at Barnsley, Notts County, QPR, Crewe, Accrington Stanley and in Iceland before his most recent stint at Blundell Park.

“I’m very pleased to be able to announce that Russell and Steve are part of the team,” said Butcher.

“They’ve both been working hard behind the scenes for a while now but they are officially on board now and we’re looking forward to moving forward together.

“Russell and I obviously go way back – we trust each other implicitly and we make a good partnership.

“And I’ve worked with Steve for a long time as well,” he added.

“He was with me at Brentford, Inverness and Hibs and we’ve built a lot of teams together.

“He has great contacts, as Russell and I do, and the bulk of the team we took to Inverness has just won the Scottish Cup.

“Between us we make a great team with a lot of knowledge and experience of players at this level.”

Butcher had been hoping to conclude another transfer deal by today but that now looks likely to be delayed until next week.

“We are getting together a team here and we’re not finished yet,” he said.

“Steve knows what I like and how I like to play and we’re still busy trying to add to the squad.

“He works incredibly hard, just like Russell and me and that’s something I’ve said to players as well – ‘if you don’t want to work hard then don’t come here.’”