Steve Eastaugh has returned to Norwich United as manager.

Eastaugh takes over from former Norwich City midfielder Cedric Anselin, who announced his departure from the Thurlow Nunn Premier Division club on Friday.

Eastaugh first took charge of the Planters in June 2016 after the club opted to pursue promotion to step four of the non-league pyramid for the first time.

In his first season, he oversaw an impressive ninth-placed finish.

However, the 2017-18 season was bitter-sweet with the club being relegated from the Isthmian League Division One North by one point but winning the Norfolk Senior Cup for the first time in their history, coming from behind to beat Downham Town 4-2 in the final at Carrow Road.

The club were shocked when Eastaugh decided to resign just before the start of the 2018-19 season for personal reasons.

Eastaugh’s most recent role was as manager of Diss Town, having agreed to be their new manager in February 2020 for the rest of the current season.

Club captain Andy Eastaugh will become player/assistant manager with Martin Meek taking on a role as coach, with further announcements on the management team to follow.

The new management team will start immediately.

“It’s great to be back at Plantation Park,” said the new manager. “I’m really looking forward to getting started and I’m grateful to the chairman for this opportunity.

“I’ve inherited a really talented group of players and I’d like to thank Cedric for all the obvious hard work he has put in, to give us a fantastic platform to take things forward.”

Eastaugh won’t have Liam Jackson or Finlay Barnes to call upon after the pair opted not to sign new deals – they have both signed for Leiston, jointly managed by former Norwich City star Darren Eadie and Chris Wigger.

Jackson, 23, scored over 100 goals at Norwich United in four years at the club and last season hit 33.

“I’ve obviously scored a lot of goals in the last few seasons but I’ve always wanted to move to a higher league level and push on,” said Jackson. “The facilities/pitch are really good here and I hope to score goals and look to step up to the mark with Chris and Darren at the helm.”